Pam Padgett - teacher
When Jesus told His disciples that He would go to the Father and they
wouldn't see Him for a little while, they were sorrowful. But Jesus
told them ...
John 16:22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.
Jesus died and rose
again, paying for our sins and redeeming us to God, and now sits at the right hand of the Father interceding for us.
And the
Holy Spirit is given to dwell in those who have been born again ... always
with us ... guiding us ... teaching us ... bringing to us what the
Father speaks to us. These things bring great joy and cannot be taken from us by any man.
Even when we face problems and
hatred on this earth, we are comforted and rejoice when we hear from God, God showing His love and care of us in the matter, giving
us exactly what we need at that exact time, showing us the way we are to go.
At one time I attended the singles group at a church. I warned a
divorced woman who attended that group and was obviously looking for
another husband that, if she remarried, she would commit adultery and
the man who married her would commit adultery. And I shared scripture with her,
such as Matt. 5:32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put
away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to
commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced
committeth adultery.
Some months later she became engaged to a man who attended this group. I
spoke with him, sharing scripture with him, warning him that he would commit adultery if he married this divorced woman. I also
shared these things with the woman who was to be the maid of honor.
Soon after this, those in the singles group would have nothing more to
do with me, even getting up and moving away from me in the church auditorium. I didn't know why I was being shunned and
turned to God. A couple weeks later, a woman I didn't know very well
came to me saying she had a message from God for me. The message was
... God knew how I was being treated by those
in the singles group and that I needed to know this was because I had
done His will in trying to stop the adulterous marriage.
The joy I had as a result of hearing from God in this matter could not be dimmed or removed by what those in the singles group did against me.
We may suffer loss of things and people of this world, but no man has power to separate us from the love of God nor take the joy we have because we belong to God and He cares for us.