Prosperity in Afflictions

I read the below post and thought of so many in our church who for months have faced the trial/affliction of not being able to find work and how they continue to faithfully stay in the hunt for  new jobs, trusting God to lead them to the jobs he has for them.

I trust the below post will be as encouraging to you as it was to me as I considered how prosperity and blessing in our lives can come out of sufferting, trial and affliction as we trust in God for the outcomes that are for his glory and our best good... as he sanctifies us in the process of taking up our crosses and following him daily in obedience to his Word as our Savoir and Lord in all aspects of our lives in him..

Read on for excellent insights on the purpose behind affliction:

http://www.marketplaceleaders.org/tgif/
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1, by Os Hillman
11-13-2012


"The second son he named Ephraim and said, 'It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.'" Genesis 41:52
When Joseph was elevated to rule over the Egyptian kingdom, he revealed some profound truths gained from the experiences of his years of adversity. He named his first son, Manasseh for, he said, "God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household" (Gen. 41:51b). His second son was named Ephraim because, "God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering."
Whenever God takes us through the land of affliction, He will do two things through that affliction: 1) He will bring such healing that we will be able to forget the pain, and 2) He will make us fruitful from the painful experiences.
God does not waste our afflictions if we allow Him the freedom to complete the work in us. His desire is to create virtue that remains during the times of testing so that He can bring us into the place of fruitfulness in the very area of our testing. He has never promised to keep us from entering the valleys of testing, but He has promised to make us fruitful in them. He is the God who turns the Valley of Achor (trouble) into a door of hope (see Hos. 2:15).
If you are in the valley of affliction, now is the time to press into Him. When the time comes to bring you out of this valley, He will heal your memories and bring fruit from this very time.
Today God Is First (TGIF) devotional message, Copyright by Os Hillman, Marketplace Leaders