Price tag

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Your Price Tag of Love

 

Hosea 3:1

"Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine."

The Book of Hosea is a love story, but not the normal type of love story. This love story was filled with heartache, disappointment, and shame, and was about the undying love that Hosea had for his wife. Can you imagine how Hosea must have felt when his wife left him, not just for another man, but she left him to live a life of prostitution? If she left him for another man that would have been hard enough to carry, but to leave him to sell her body to lustful men was a blow that would be hard for anyone to take. Yet, though she left him, he still loved her to the end and proved it by buying her back to be his wife when she was being sold as a slave.

Love, is one of the most costly things for which you will pay for in life. Most people don't know that there is a price tag on love when they choose to love someone. Though the price tag of love is great, if you will pay the price, you will enjoy a great relationship in the end. Let me show you several things that are included in the price tag of love.

First, love hurts. When you choose to love someone, you need to expect that you will be hurt by them at sometime in your life. To expect that someone will never hurt you is unrealistic. Everybody is a sinner, and sinners will do things that hurt those who love them the most even though they may not purposely try to do this. When you choose to love someone, don't think that you will go unscathed, for there will be a time when you will be hurt by them.

Second, love is disappointing. There will be times when the one you love will disappoint you, but true love will continue to love that person. Just because they disappoint you should not stop your love for them for if it does then you never truly loved that person. Just think how often we have disappointed God, and yet He still loves us. When someone disappoints you, don't let that disappointment stop your love.

Third, love can be shameful. Imagine the shame that Hosea felt when he faced others who saw his wife on the street corner selling her body to lustful men. This was certainly a shameful feeling. However, his love for her did not waver even though he was shamed. True love is not dependent upon whether or not someone will shame or embarrass you. There will be times when you will have to carry the shame for the one that you love, but it is worth it when you can restore the fellowship in that love.

Fourth, love may be spurned. Hosea's wife actually left him, but though she left and probably told him that she didn't love him when she did, he still loved her. One of the things you must understand about love is that there is no off switch to love. Though someone may spurn you and be hateful towards you, true love continues to love that person.

Fifth, love has no degree at which it will stop to restore a loved one. The undying love of Hosea was seen when he made a bid for his wife to bring her back home. True love will continue to do everything it can to restore fellowship with the one it loves. Love will be willing to look over the wrong so that it can have the one back whom it loves.

Christian, the only way you will have this true love is to focus on the object of your love and not on the benefits or actions of the one you love. Every parent, spouse, child, friend and Christian needs to know that your love will go through these stages. My question for you is this, are you willing to pay the price tag of love? If you are, then you will have fulfilling relationships.

Weary

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Weary in Praying

 

Daniel 10:12

"Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words."

Daniel had many great attributes that could be written about, but maybe the greatest attribute was his prayer life. When you read the Book of Daniel, you see that prayer was a mainstay in his life. In fact, when his enemies wanted to find something with which to destroy him, they knew that if they made a law not to pray that they could finally have him killed. Though Daniel was a great prayer warrior, even he had times when it seemed that his prayers were not answered. However, though it seemed that his prayers were not answered, he continued praying until the answer came through.

One of the hardest things to be consistent with in the Christian life is your prayer life. It takes work to pray. There are many people who spend time daily in the Scriptures who's prayer life is hit and miss. The reason is because praying goes against the desires of the flesh. To be consistent in prayer, you constantly have to crucify your flesh. Therefore, because of the difficulty of a consistent prayer life, many will stop praying for a request if they don't get an answer within a "reasonable" amount of time.

Let me encourage you that God hears your prayer. Notice in the verse above that Daniel's prayers were heard the first time he prayed. Though at times you may think that God does not hear your prayers, you must place your faith in the fact that God says that He hears your prayer. Matthew 7:7-8 says, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." If God said that He would give us what we ask, then that would mean that He must hear us when we pray. Though you may not think that God has heard you, rest in His promises that your prayers are being heard. Just because you don't feel that your prayers are not being heard does not mean that God doesn't hear them. God's promises are not based upon how you feel, they are based upon the fact that God said He would do it.

Furthermore, you must not give up hope that your prayers will be answered. You will notice in the verse above that though Daniel's prayer was answered, it took several days for the answer to be delivered. The Devil will do anything he can to keep the answers to your prayers from getting to you. That is why you must not give up. Keep praying until the answer comes. You may think that it is worthless, but God has heard your prayer and the answer is on the way. He promised that He would not only hear your prayer, but He also promised that He would answer it.

What prayer are you growing weary in waiting for? God promises that He will come through if you don't quit. Galatians 6:9 says, "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." If you will keep on praying, you will reap the results of your prayer. Whatever request you have stopped praying for, let me encourage you to pick it up and keep on asking because the answer is on the way.

Promotion

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An Unorthodox Way to Promotion

 

Daniel 3:30

"Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon."

Being promoted is one of the most sought after things by organizations and people. Organizations want to be promoted to a higher status in the minds of people, many churches seek to be recognized nationally, and many people seek to become famous or have higher position in their jobs. However, the way to promotion will be acquired in an unorthodox way. Let me explain by telling you two stories.

The first story is about the Prophet Balaam. In Numbers 22, Balak was afraid of God's people. He heard the stories how God delivered Israel from Egypt, and he knew he would soon face these people. He sent his servants to Balaam to ask him to come and curse Israel. He promised Balaam wealth and promotion if he would come. Balaam first refused the invitation, but eventually he compromised and went to curse God's people. Through a series of God's intervention, Balaam realized the error of his way, but he still went. Once Balaam was in the presence of Balak, he blessed Israel several times to the point that Balak ran him out of town. Though Balaam thought he would get promotion and wealth through compromise, the only thing he got was the back door.

The second story is about the three Hebrew children. Nebuchadnezzar built an image and commanded that all people bow down to the image when they heard the music play. When the music started, everyone bowed down except for the three Hebrew children. Nebuchadnezzar gave these three young men another opportunity to bow down to his image, but they refused and eventually were thrown into the fiery furnace. After a few minutes, Nebuchadnezzar looked into the furnaced and noticed that the Son of God had come to help deliver them from the fire. The uncompromising stand of the three Hebrew children resulted in their promotion. If they would have compromised, they would have been like everyone else.

Promotion must not be sought after. One of the differences in these two stories is one sought promotion while the others sought to do right. One coveted money while the others desired God's blessing. When you seek promotion, you will do anything to get it.

Moreover, compromise never gives promotion. You will often hear people say that if you will compromise in a few areas that you will be able to get promoted. This is a lie of the Devil! Compromise has never brought promotion, and if it does, it will change who you are and you won't like what you will become. An uncompromising stand will always cause you to stand out above the crowd. Compromise will always cause you to be like everyone else, and those who are like everyone else never get recognized.

The only way you will be promoted in whatever area you are in is to stand by your principles, even when the threat of persecution is there. You must remember that principles never change, and you must be moved by principle and not by promotion. Principles will always bring persecution, but also principles always bring promotion. Remember, according to Psalm 75:6-7, promotion comes from God. God is not going to promote someone who compromises; He is going to promote those who stand by principle.

Churches who seek to be a mega church must compromise in order to become that. The church that God blesses is the church that does right and is not worried about how big they are. He looks at the church who stands by principle, and that is the church that He promotes. Likewise, the Christian who stands by principle and never compromises is the Christian whom God will use and promote. Stop seeking promotion through compromise and seek to do right through principle. It is the latter that God will use to promote you.

All the time

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Keeping God Good All the Time

 

Psalm 77:9

"Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah."

Psalm 52:1 says, "Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually." You will notice that it says that God is good all the time. However, in the verse above it seems that the psalmist forgot this verse when he said, "Hath God forgotten to be gracious?" In one psalm we read that God is good, and when you find the same person who said God was good almost questioning the goodness of God. It can almost seem as if God's goodness is fickle. Yet, when you read the remainder of the psalm you see that the psalmist took three steps to get himself out of the funk of questioning the goodness of God.

Face it, there are times when you boldly say that God is good all the time, and then there are times when you struggle with saying and believing God's goodness. When times are going well, it is easy to proclaim God's goodness, but when times are unsettled, it is certainly difficult to see God's goodness through the hardships. However, you cannot allow yourself to stay in the doldrums of self pity, and you must get yourself back on top side if you are going to continue to help people and be positive about life. There are three steps you can take to help you get through those tough times when you doubt God's goodness.

First, remember the works of God. Psalm 77:11 says, "I will remember the works of the LORD:..." You will see that the psalmist decided to remember what God did in the past. Too many people stop remembering God's past works and only dwell on what is happening in the present. You must always remember that the goodness of God is not dependent upon your circumstances. While you think God is not being fair, or that He is not being good to you, there is someone else who is proclaiming the goodness of God. Remember, you don't know the whole picture, but you must take time while you can't see the whole picture to remember what God has done for you in the past. You will never be successful at this until you start writing down and recording when God is good to you. It is when you are going through the tough times that you go back to your records and read the good works of God from the past.

Second, meditate on the works of God. Psalm 77:12 says, "I will meditate also of all thy work,..." Meditating is thinking. In other words, to meditate on the works of God is to think about the works of God. What I do in this step is I take God's good works that I remembered and begin to talk to Him about those works. I talk out loud to God about what He did for me. I find this helps to heal my doubts of God's goodness. Christian, if you will take the time to meditate and talk out loud to God about what He did for you in the past, you will find that God will begin to talk to you again. God gets excited when people talk to Him about the good that He has done.

Third, talk to others about the works of God. Psalm 77:12 continues when it says, "...and talk of thy doings." You will find that when you tell others that God is good, even when you are doubting His goodness, it will have a way of bringing you around to believing He is still good. Many times when a preacher is preaching on the goodness of God, he is talking himself into believing God's goodness because he is going through rough times. Every time he is done preaching, the preacher has talked himself out of his little pity party by telling others of God's goodness. Talking of God's works will help you to overcome your negative thoughts concerning God's goodness.

God is good all the time, but when you feel He is not good, you must take these three steps to get you through your rough time. Eventually you will see God's goodness, but until then, keep believing His goodness by remembering, meditating and talking of His works.

How God Speaks

How God Speaks to You

 

Proverbs 1:23

"Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.

One of the questions I am often asked is how do we know when God is speaking to us. Proverbs 1:22-25 shows us four ways that God speaks. You will notice in verse 22 that God addresses three different people. He addresses the simple, the foolish and the scorner. The simple person is not a bad person, they are a person who doesn't know any better. The foolish is one who knows better, but won't do anything about it. The scorner is one who graduated from being foolish to criticizing God's ways and His Word. However, you will find that God speaks to each of these groups in the same way.

The first way God speaks is through His Word. Notice in the verse above that God said, "...I will make known my words unto you." Christian, God cannot speak to you if you don't daily read His Word. God has something to say to you on a daily basis, but cannot get His Words to you if you won't read Them daily. Furthermore, God speaks His Word to you through preaching. Often a person misses God's message to them because they are not listening to the preaching. Be careful about becoming sidetracked during the preaching with daydreaming, writing notes, texting and simply not listening. God has something to say to you, but you must listen to the preaching to hear it.

The second way God speaks is through your heart. Verse 24 says, "Because I have called, and ye refused;..." This is God convicting someone in their heart. Many times God will use His Holy Spirit to speak to your heart through the form of conviction. It is very important that you listen to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, for God is trying to say something to you.

The third way God speaks is through helping hands. Verse 24 says, "I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;" God uses people to do His works. Often, when someone is not listening to the preaching and the convicting of the Holy Spirit, then He sends someone to help them get their life back together. You will often see this method when people show interest in you to get you to come back. When God sends someone to help you, don't reject His help through this person, for God has something to say to you.

The fourth way God speaks is through counseling. Verse 25 says, "But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:" When you go for counsel, God will speak through the preacher to help you to do right or to get right. Be careful about having your mind made up when you go in for counsel for God has a message for you to help you to do right.

The sad part about these four areas is that when a person will not heed God's Word, then destruction comes. Verse 26 says, "I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;" Notice, because the person would not listen to God that destruction came their way. It is not always God's judgment that caused their destruction, but many times it was because they did not listen, therefore, they could not hear God's warning to keep them from that which would hurt them.

By way of warning, don't plug your ears to God's voice. You may be running from God by trying to experience the world's way, but destruction will come if you won't listen to the voice of God. For those who are doing right and want to continue doing right, be sure to keep your ears open to God's voice in these four areas so you can avert the "calamity" that will come your way by not heeding the voice of God.

Peace

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Increasing Peace

 

Isaiah 9:7

"Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this."

Peace seems to be the cry of the world. When you look at political leaders, they all talk about having world peace. Churches desire to have peace in their congregations. Christians want peace with other Christians outside of their congregation. Families want peace between family members. Yet, peace is not a possession that someone holds. You can't legislate peace. You can't decide to have peace. The reason is because peace is a byproduct of actions.

In the verse above, God tells us there will be world peace someday. That day will be when God comes to set up His kingdom during the Millennial Reign. In the verse above, you find the elements that will cause the world to have peace. In fact, it will not just cause peace, but it will cause peace to increase. If every leader would practice the steps that God will perform to set up peace, then they will discover peace in their own realm.

The first step for peace is having clear boundaries of authority. You will notice that God will have a government. That means there will be different positions of authority that God will set up. In order for peace to increase in your realm, every position of authority must be clearly defined in what they will do. You will not have peace when the roles of authority and what they can and cannot do is not clearly defined.

Second, you must have organization. You will notice that there will be order in God's government. Likewise, you must have organization in whatever you are trying to accomplish if you want peace. Disorganization causes unrest and disharmony. This is why it is highly important to make sure there is organization in what you do.

Third, there must be judgment for peace to increase. Judgment is achieved through several venues. First, judgment requires decisive decision making. When leadership won't make decisions, then you will have unrest. Second, there must be clear rules by which all must live. Judgment cannot be achieved when there are no clear rules. In other words, rules must be established so that everyone will know what is expected of them. Last, there must be a clear direction. Rules are important, but the direction of philosophy must also be defined for you to have judgment. In other words, what are you trying to accomplish? Judgment consists of these three things.

Last, for peace to increase justice must be practiced. Once judgment is set in place, then justice must be enforced. Justice is being fair with all enforcement of all the rules. There can be no favorites for justice to be achieved. Likewise, justice consists of just punishment. In other words, everyone must experience the same punishment for the same violation. If you punish one person but not the other, then you will find that peace will flee away. Justice is the key final element for peace to increase.

If these steps are followed, then peace will be established. Whether it is a church, business, nation, school, or family, these steps allow peace to increase if followed. You must remember that peace is not an object you hold, it is a byproduct of following the steps listed above.

Punishment

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The Need for Proper Punishment

 

Proverbs 29:15

"The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame."

One of the hardest things a parent or an authority has to do is to administer punishment. Any loving parent or authority will admit that they don't enjoy having to administer punishment when it is needed. However, without punishment a child will bring shame to those who care for them. You can either do the hard thing by punishing the child when they do wrong, or you can carry heartache for many years because you avoided the punishment.

True love will punish when a child does wrong. The reason is because punishment teaches. Notice in the verse above God says, "The rod and reproof give wisdom:..." The wisdom that punishment gives is that there are consequences in doing wrong. You cannot do wrong without paying the price. If you as a parent or authority choose not to administer the needed punishment, then you will suffer more embarrassment later.

Punishment that is just follows the rules by the letter of the law. Often you hear authority say that we need to love the one who wronged and try to restore them. To this I agree, but the best way to love the one who has done wrong is to punish them to the degree that the rules state. When an authority doesn't follow the rules of punishment they set up, then they are teaching the child that they can get away with doing wrong. This is not a good lesson to teach a child for this will embolden them to do wrong in a greater way the next time because you taught them that they can get away with it.

If you are an authority, let me beg you to properly administer the punishment that is prescribed when someone does wrong. It teaches the one who did the wrong that they will not be able to get away with disobedience. If you really want to restore someone, then the best way to restore them is to teach them that there are consequences to every action. No, it won't always be easy to administer punishment, but by doing the hard thing of punishing you are saving that person from heartache down the road.

Parents, you must also learn to have consequences for your children when they do wrong. If you let your children get away with doing wrong, then they will break your heart later in life. Be careful about trying to blame someone else for your child's wrong, for this teaches them that they can get away with sin. Even if someone did influence your child to do wrong, they still did wrong. By administering punishment, you are teaching your child that whether they were the instigator of the wrong or simply influenced to do wrong, that punishment always happens when they do wrong.

Love is tough at times. True love will teach followers that they cannot get away with wrong by properly punishing them. Always remember, if you let the follower skirt the rules of punishment, then you will embolden them to do worse the next time. Do the right thing by punishing according to the prescribed punishment and save them from greater punishment later on. It is better to be embarrassed now by having to go through the punishment that will end than to have to live with a life-long punishment. You can stop great heartache now by administering punishment is the "small" wrongs so they will learn that there are consequences to every action.

Settling

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Settling Marital Disputes

 

Song of Solomon 2:11

"For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;"

Marriage is a wonderful union to enjoy. One of the greatest blessings that God allowed mankind to enjoy is the blessing of marriage. However, because marriage consists of a sinful man and woman dwelling together, that means that there will be disagreements between them. Though there are disagreements, that does not mean that you still can't enjoy marriage. If you handle the disputes in a proper manner, then your marriage can still be happy and enjoyable.

In the verse above, the couple seemingly had a dispute. Notice the verse says, "...the winter is past,..." That is talking about a cold spell that they had in their marriage. In other words, though this couple was madly in love with each other, they still had disputes that they had to settle. Yet, you will notice that when the dispute was over that they were still in love with each other. The reason is because they settled their dispute in a right way. If you will handle your disputes with your spouse in a right way, then you can keep the love and passion fresh in your marriage.

When trying to settle a dispute in your marriage, don't attack the dignity of your spouse. In verse 9, the wife addressed her husband with dignity. You may have a disagreement with your spouse, but you don't have to attack their dignity. Anytime you attack the dignity of your spouse you will escalate the disagreement. The best way to allow your spouse to keep their dignity in a disagreement is to address them properly. Calling names will not allow them to keep their dignity.

Second, stay sweet during the dispute. The couple in this story kept the sweetness with each other during their dispute. Notice in verse 10 it says, "Rise up, my love, my fair one,..." Instead of being sour towards each other, they addressed each other with loving words which helped them to settle their dispute properly. Proverbs 15:1 says, "A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger." If you will keep your tone down and talk to each other in a sweet and loving manner, then you will find it will be much easier to settle your disputes.

Third, once you settle the dispute, then put it in the past. Notice in the verse above they talk about the winter being past. In other words, when the cold spell of the dispute was over, they put it in the past and moved on. When you settle a dispute, you both must decide to never again bring that situation up. Leave your disputes in the past once you have settled them so that your marriage can become stronger.

The results of settling marital disputes in a right way is that there will be a renewed love and sweetness. In verse 12, this couple talked about the flowers appearing and the birds singing. Just like the air is fresh after a thunderstorm, if you settle your disputes in a proper way, you will find fresh air in your marriage that will allow it to be stronger, sweeter, and for you to be closer to your spouse.

2 Better than 1

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Two are Better Than One

 

Ecclesiastes 4:9

"Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour."

One of the most important things a married couple needs to learn is that they are a team. A marriage that does not work as a team is a marriage that has problems. Two people going their own separate ways will cause serious marital problems. Therefore, it is important that each spouse works hard at becoming a team member.

In the verse above, God said that, "Two are better than one;..." When you look at this verse in context, you will see that God is talking about marriage. God was teaching the married couple that it will take work from both sides to have a successful marriage. This implies that both sides must be involved in the work to have a happy marriage. It cannot be one person trying to make the marriage happy while the other is passive and could care less. It must be both husband and wife working together for their marriage to experience the reward of happiness. God shows us in this verse that there are benefits for a couple who works together.

The first benefit is that when one falls, the other is there to pick them up. God says in verse 10, "For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow:..." It is important for married couples to realize that their spouse will not be perfect. Because they are not perfect, you must be willing to help them recover when they fall. Instead of couples throwing their failures at each other, a happy marriage is one that will help the other through their failures. Not only is helping your spouse to get up after failure a benefit of marriage, but it also means that you can keep each other from failing. If both husband and wife will work together, they can keep each other from failure more easily than doing it alone.

In verse 12, we find the second benefit of marriage is that two can fight battles better than one. God says, "And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him;..." Everyone will fight battles in life. When each face a battle, it is important that the married couple fight the battle together. When both work together through battles, then they have a easier time of overcoming the battle.

The final benefit of two working together is closeness. When a husband and wife work together as a team, they will discover a closeness that will bring each of them joy. You will always learn more about someone by working with them than by simply playing. In both benefits mentioned above, work is involved to accomplish the benefit. When the husband and wife work together, they will develop the closeness that they envisioned before marriage.

In your marriage, work hard at becoming a team. Don't be one who lets your spouse do all the work, but join together as a team to make your marriage what it ought to be. "Two are better than one..." so, stop trying to work your marriage alone and become a team player.

When...

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When God Can't Be Found

 

Job 23:3

"Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat!"

Have you ever felt in your life that God was nowhere to be found? In the verse above, Job felt that way. Of course, he was going through the battle of his life when he made this statement. At the time of this statement, Job was defending himself from the attacks of three men, and was still battling his health and grief from his loss. It was during this time that Job felt that he could not find God. Yet, when you come to the end of the book of Job, you can see that God was right there with him even though he couldn't find Him.

Often, when going through great trials, it seems that God is nowhere to be found. The reason is because the physical trials that we face seem to overwhelm us. When we are overwhelmed with trials, as humans all we seem to see is what is causing our pain. However, we must understand that God has promised that He would never leave us or forsake us. Let me give you some suggestions of what to do when it seems that God cannot be found.

First, though you can't find God, He has found you. Job 23:10 says, "But he knoweth the way that I take:..." Though Job felt that he could not find God, he acknowledged in the same conversation that God already knew where he was. Christian, you may think that God is nowhere to be found, but you must understand that He knows the path that you are taking. That would mean that if God knows the path that you are taking, then He is already on that path with you. Just because you can't see God does not mean that He is not there. The disciples couldn't see God when they were out on the lake, but He was right there with them in their storms. When you can't find God, you must remember that He has already found you.

Second, stop comparing! One of the mistakes that Job made in his time of trial was that he compared the heathen to himself. Job constantly looked at how it seemed that the heathen got away with their lifestyle. Christian, don't fall for the trap of looking at the heathen and wondering why they seem to be able to live their wicked lifestyle and get away with it. You must understand that their day will come. Many of the heathen will pay for their sins in Hell. If you are saved, you will get to live for an eternity in Heaven. Furthermore, the heathen do pay for their lifestyle. We often don't see it because when they are paying for it the world will not advertise it. The world only advertises sin when it looks good, it never shows the end result. If you keep on comparing the heathen's lifestyle with serving God, then you could very well talk yourself into living their life, only to make your situation worse.

Last, stop looking for God and start serving Him. The best way to find God when you can't see Him is to serve Him. God tends to reveal Himself to you when you are serving Him. As hard as it may be when you are going through trials, you must stir yourself to serve God. Don't let your hardships keep you from serving Him, but with the strength you have serve God. You will find that when you start serving God that you will take your eyes off of your problems. When you take your eyes off of your problems you will see that God is there with you.

Yes, we all have those times when it is hard to find God. Most likely the reason we can't find God is because our eyes are on the problems which keep us from seeing Him. When the time comes when you can't seem to find God, get busy and serve Him, and you will find that He has always been there with you, even when you thought you could not find Him.