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October 12, 2023

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LOVE BEARETH... BELIEVETH... HOPETH... ENDURETH

"Love beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things." 1 Corinthians 13:7

"Love beareth all things." Love always protects and bears up under anything and everything that comes along. We ought never to bear the burden of sin or doubt. There are burdens placed on us by God, which He does not intend to lift. He wants us to roll them back on Him. The Psalmist said..."Cast thy burden upon the Lord" (Psalm 55:22).

If we undertake some service or ministry for God and "get out of touch" with Him, the sense of responsibility will be overwhelmingly crushing. But, if we "roll back on God" what He puts on us, He takes away the burdening sense of responsibility by bringing in the realization of Himself and His sufficiency for the task. When the atonement of Christ is the central focus of our life, then we can bear all things because it will be His life lived through us making us effective and fruitful in every good work.

"Love believeth all things." Love always trusts and is ready to believe the best in every situation. Belief must emerge from our will to believe. Spiritual belief is a deliberate reliance on God and His Word until I am no longer confident in what "I" can do or have done. I am only confident in God alone.

Our hindrance is when we want to trust our mental understanding and not simply trust God. Belief finds its springboard in faith. The Holy Spirit reveals spiritual truth and instructs us, and we begin to get an intellectual understanding and an appreciation of the wonder of our transformation wrought by God!

"Love hopeth all things." Love always hopes and is faultless under all circumstances. When we lose hope, we succumb to the inevitable, give way to despair, and yield to the invasion of being overcome, discouraged, and defeated. "Hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us" (Romans 5:5).

Hope enabled Abraham to become the father of the faithful (Romans 4:18). The Scripture is the source of hope and the revelation of our hope (Romans 15:4). Hope is the truth and is the soul's sure anchor (Hebrews 6:18-19). Our hope is secured in the resurrection of Jesus (1 Peter 1:3). Hope is a saving element in life (Romans 8:24). It abides forever (1 Corinthians 13:13). May we embrace the hope we have in Jesus Christ, standing firm upon the truth purchased for us on the cross, and secured to us by His resurrection.

"Love endureth all things." Love endures everything without weakening. What a test this is for every believer. Paul said..."I endure all things for the elect's sake, that they may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory" (2 Timothy 2:10). Endurance runs parallel with perseverance. What a wonderful characteristic this is when found in a believer. Persevere with purpose...run the race "looking unto Jesus."

Love does not overlook a provocation or two, but a long continuance of provocations. It will forgive not seven times, but seventy times seven. Love's great aim is to "heap coals of fire" on the head of an adversary, as to melt him into love. In this will every believer become "conformed to the image of His Son."

"LOVE beareth all things...believeth all things...hopeth all things...endureth all things." May these virtues of Christ be found in us and manifested through us to others by the Holy Spirit.

© 2007 by Ed Powell. Used by permission.


This page was reprinted by permission from: http://www.litmin.org/dare.php?date=2023-10-12


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