Tag: Bible verses about trials and tribulations

Bible Verse of The Day – 2-13-24

Job 17:6-7 (NKJV) 6 “But He has made me a byword of the people, And I have become one in whose face men spit. 7 My eye has also grown dim because of sorrow, And all my members are like shadows.

When we ended yesterday’s devotional, we were discussing God’s love, and the effects of facing trials; being squeezed by difficult circumstances.

If our lives are always comfortable and cozy, with no trials or tribulations, we simply will not grow to our fullest.

Why? Because we will never be forced to see ourselves.

We will be in cruise control, zipping through life without a care.

But when we get squeezed, usually by difficult or uncomfortable circumstances, the ugly stuff in us tends to ooze out.

I know this is not a pretty picture, but reality is rarely ever picture perfect.

When Job was attacked by satan, many things happened.

He lost his wealth. He lost his family. He lost his dignity. He lost his reputation. And he lost his good standing in the community.

Where Job used to be greeted in public with respect and warm smiles, he was now avoided because of his severe disfiguration caused by the boils.

Job’s physical appearance was so badly changed by his affliction, even his friends had trouble recognizing him when they initially approached (Job 2:12).

But as Job spent time with his friends, who did nothing to encourage him, he pondered his situation in a way that caused him to begin examining himself.

His words at that time were edgy and crass. He was angry with his dilemma. But in it all, he refused to do as his wife told him at the onset; to curse God and die.

Instead, he held fast to his faith, acknowledging God’s sovereignty in everything.

His distressed mind caused him to see things in a very drastic way, so his thoughts were extreme. But during his suffering, he began to reach out to God in a most earnest and sincere way.

In time, God spoke to Job. And Job listened with a sincere heart as God showed him where he had failed.

As God’s words penetrated Job’s heart, and as Job saw his sinfulness, he openly and readily repented.

Job 42:5-6 (NKJV) 5 “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You. 6 Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.”

You see, had Job not faced such dire circumstances, he would never have been forced to see himself. And he would never have recognized his sin.

So, let us not be so quick to run from adversity. For it just may be that during our worst suffering, we find out who we really are. And what we see just might change us in a way that nothing else could have done.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
49 N Lamplighters Walk
Hampstead, NC 28443

401-439-3780

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Bible Verse of The Day – 8-15-22

John 16:33 (NKJV) 33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Right now, at this very moment, so many are going through trials.

The world has become a very difficult place over the last 2 years or so. We have all faced many difficulties of one kind or another.

Some of the things we have faced have been at the hands of evil people. Others have come about in different ways; loss of a loved one, loss of a job, health problems, etc.

Regardless of the means by which they came, they have been very difficult, and in many cases leaving scars that will last a lifetime.

Many of us have been changed by these things, and we will carry those changes with us for many years to come; maybe even until the day we depart this earth.

But in all of the difficulties, there has remained one Constant who keeps us anchored; Jesus, our Redeemer and Savior.

He told us that there will be trials and tribulations. He spoke it plainly. But in that same verse, He also told us to “be of good cheer”. Why? Because He has overcome the world.

As children of the Most High God, we are not guaranteed an easy life of only pleasures and immense happiness. Instead, we are assured that when we go through the difficulties, He will be with us, walking us through each step.

So, it is in this that we take our comfort, knowing that even in His own difficulties, He overcame them, giving that victory to us as well.

So, take heart today. Hold tightly to Him in the midst of your storm. He will not lose His grip on us.

In that, my brothers and sisters, take heart, find your rest and your comfort.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
49 N Lamplighters Walk
Hampstead, NC 28443

401-439-3780

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Bible Verse of The Day – 3-8-22

Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV) 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Don’t be scared.

Times are very different and God’s people are seeing it for what it is.

We know that things have changed drastically and very rapidly.

Things are going to get harder, and we are going to see it and have to stand firmer than ever before in our faith, and be there to help others as well.

Children of God, stay focused.

Most of us are shaking our heads at what is going on. But don’t get stuck in the negative.

Don’t get depressed over it all. That will only keep us from doing our part. God knows.

Psalm 18:46 (NKJV) 46 The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted.

We have a part to play. And that part is this; even though we see and know what is happening, we stand strong on this Rock, who is Christ Jesus our Lord.

We must keep His joy and love flowing through our hearts. That’s right, move forward with joy and LOVE.

We have much to be grateful for, and we are all blessed to the very end. God wins. And we are His children, we win with Him! Amen.

As we continue to move forward in 2022, we will stand up and march. We will be mighty warriors through Him!

And as we do so, we want to thank you for all you do to help us keep going forward. Your prayers, financial support and encouragement are God-sent.

Our recent move to NC has been flawless. We did not skip a beat during the whole process. God gave us the grace and strength to stay strong through it all. And we are starting now to feel like it is our home.

Thank you so much for your prayers, and for checking on us during that time. It meant the world to know that we weren’t alone.

As we wrap this up, let us say that if you feel that there are steps that He is impressing upon you to take during this season, know that His timing and understanding are critical.

Stay close to Him and let Him lead. He is faithful to lead us, and to set the things in motion that will help make it happen.

Watch, listen and obey.

We love you all dearly!

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
49 N Lamplighters Walk
Hampstead, NC 28443

401-439-3780

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Bible Verse of The Day – 12-20-21

Job 40:3-4 (NJKV) 3 Then Job answered the Lord and said: 4 “Behold, I am vile; What shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth.

It’s funny how tough, uncomfortable situations can show us who we are and what we’re made of.

Times of trial can squeeze us, putting pressure on us and causing us to act in ways that aren’t always pretty.

When we get squeezed, stuff comes out; nasty stuff that we’d rather not see or have others see.

Look at what happened to Job when he was going through his time of trouble.

At first, he played it very cool. He sat quietly and chose his words carefully.

But as time went on, he began to share what was really inside. And it wasn’t pretty at all.

Ultimately, he railed against God and demanded an audience with Him so he could proclaim his innocence.

You see, Job was getting squeezed. And the more he got squeezed, the more he got to see himself. And he didn’t like what he saw.

In the end, God spoke to Job and reprimanded him for his attitude and his behavior.

And Job repented. Why? Because he saw that who he was displeased God. And he was also displeased with himself.

He had acted foolishly, and it made him ashamed.

But you see, when Job repented, God forgave him and blessed him.

Let us learn from Job. Let’s take what he learned and put it to work in our own lives, so when we get squeezed, we don’t do the same things he did.

Let God lead. He will bring us through the trials in ways that we can’t do ourselves.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
49 N Lamplighters Walk
Hampstead, NC 28443

401-439-3780

If you know someone who will enjoy this or be encouraged by it, please feel free to share it with them!

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Bible Verse of The Day – 10-26-21

Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV) 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Are we having to start over today?

Maybe we lost everything we had. Maybe we got let go on our job. Or maybe our spouse left us or they passed away.

It can make us feel empty, hopeless and scared. But, we have learned that God can bring good things out of the hardest of times.

Starting over doesn’t have to be scary when we have a God who knows us better then we could ever comprehend.

He’s the One that loves us and cares for us; a God that knows our future. And if we let Him, He will make sure it goes the way it needs to.

In the midst of loss we can sometimes forget how marvelous our Father is toward us all.

Wait on God’s directions.

The first thing we have to do is learn to listen and see with our hearts, as led by God’s spirit. Our fleshly desires will fight us. But if we stand firm against them, and wait on God, He will give us the desires of our heart.

Psalm 37:4 (NKJV) 4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

The next step we have to take is to adjust our attitude and the way we think, knowing and trusting that God will lead us if we give Him the lead.

Many times, if things aren’t happening quickly enough, we will try to take back the lead.

God will let us have it back. But we are in danger of being on our own at that point.

He will always help us, no matter how far off the path we go, if we realize it and ask Him for His help. The best thing to do is stay the course.

The most important thing to do is guard our attitude about where we are, even if we are at the beginning stages and we haven’t yet seen any changes.

Stay strong. God will come through.

The desires of our heart will come again; just maybe in a different way than we had thought, as we surrender ourselves to Him.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-315-0902

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Bible Verse of The Day – 7-5-21

2 Corinthians 1:8-9 (NKJV) 8 For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead,

Paul went through some things in his lifetime. As an apostle, he was beaten many times, stoned and left for dead, survived shipwrecks and much more. And he suffered all of this as a result of his work to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with others.

Because Paul knew what it meant to suffer, I tend to pay attention when he says something like what he said above; “we despaired even of life”.

They expected to die as a result of the persecution that they faced in Asia.

Paul calls the intensity in which they were persecuted as being “burdened beyond measure, above strength”. He was so sure he would die for the gospel that he had literally pronounced a death sentence upon himself.

It was that very situation, though, that caused them to stop relying on themselves and to turn fully to the God who raises the dead for their help and their survival.

Isn’t this just like all of us? We get backed into a corner and try with everything in us to fix the problem ourselves. Then, only when we realize that we can’t fix it, we finally hand it over to God for His help.

We know about this too. We have been in situations where we exhausted ourselves and were laying with our backs to the floor. Then we finally gave our situation over to God for His help. Once we did that, we started seeing light at the end of the proverbial tunnel pretty quickly.

Let’s change this up in our lives. Let’s start going to God first, instead of waiting until we are in dire need and on the verge of dying.

If we would do this, most of the struggles we face will be resolved much more quickly, and we will learn to trust God even more as we see Him work on our behalf.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-315-0902

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Bible Verse of The Day – 2-12-21

Psalm 27:13 (NKJV) 13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living.

Have you ever had something happen that made you feel like someone had kicked you square in the gut?

Life can sometimes deal some harsh blows. It’s just the reality of living as a human being.

Being a child of God does not make us immune to those harsh blows, contrary to what some might say, think or teach.

Trials and tribulations come for each of us.

The thing we need to remember is Who it is that brings us through those trials.

Sometimes it can be easy to feel hopeless and like we just want to throw in the towel and walk away. But the reality is that doing so accomplishes nothing. Nor does it make us any better off.

Giving up is easy, or so it might seem. But even in giving up there will be wreckage and debris to clean up afterward.

The best thing we can do is to pick ourselves up, let God help us to face our adversary and work through whatever we’re facing.

It is placing our hope in Him that keeps us from losing heart.

He needs to be our anchor in the midst of the storms that we face. Does that make it easier to face them?

That depends on us. If our minds are set on being angry, disappointed and miserable, then there is nothing that anyone can do to help us, including God Himself.

But once we understand that He is our source of strength and help, and that He is the well that we draw from when our joy is running out, then we can start taking steps forward and leaving our misery behind, one step at a time.

Why should we be hanging out in the land of the dead and miserable when He wants us to stay with Him in the land of the living?

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-315-0902

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Bible Verse of The Day – 1-30-21

Daniel 3:19-20 (NKJV) 19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. 20 And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and cast them into the burning fiery furnace.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego had angered Nebuchadnezzar by refusing to worship the gold statue he had created.

They showed their loyalty to the one true God by stating very boldly to the king that “we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up”.

Needless to say, Nebuchadnezzar was irate. At this point he commanded that the furnace be heated up to 7 times hotter than normal.

The fire was so hot that it killed the men who threw them into the fire.

A short time after they had been thrown in, the king couldn’t believe what he saw.

In verse 24, He exclaimed, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?”.

The people confirmed this.

And then he proclaimed (in verse 25) that he could see “four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”

King Nebuchadnezzar immediately called the three men out from the fire and was in awe that none of them were hurt.

None of them even had so much as the smell of fire on them or their garments.

Because of what he had witnessed, Nebuchadnezzar glorified God and immediately made a proclamation that no one would be allowed to speak anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego without punishment by death.

So often in our own lives, we pray and ask God to deliver us from the things that we are facing. We don’t want to go through pain or discomfort.

But if we look at the example above, we will see that these men of God actually had to go through the fire before they were delivered!

They didn’t see a hand sweeping down and removing the trial in front of them. Instead, they were allowed by God to be thrown into an incredibly hot furnace where He then showed His hand and prevented them from being hurt or burned alive.

By this God was glorified.

Had Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego not been thrown into the furnace, the king would never have glorified God. Neither would the men of God have been able to witness God’s miraculous hand of rescue from such a dire situation.

None of us likes the fire of trials. In fact, we probably despise them and will go to great lengths to avoid them or prevent them.

But it’s safe to say that it is only during times of great trial that we can see great moves of God on our behalf.

James 1:2-3 (NKJV) 2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-315-0902

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Bible Verse of The Day – 5-19-20

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NKJV) 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

As I sit and ponder today on these past few months, I see change that has come not only in my own life, but in those around me. In the lives of all people around the world.

I am in awe at how God has given me such a peace that, through the hard times, through the decision making, through the learning experience, He stuck it out with me.

I have such wonderful memories to hold onto and reminisce about. Things I would never have experienced if I hadn’t gone through the fires at different times in my life.

Boy, I definitely know it’s not easy facing some things. I’d say sometimes it is even gut-wrenching hard.

But, instead of dwelling on the trial, I choose to keep the good at the forefront of my heart; the happy things that have brought me joy. And, I rejoice and thank God for all the new memories that I have!

We can always look around and see bad situations, and spend time talking about them. These things are there in all of our lives at one time or another. Or, we can choose to focus and move on with the good things.

Finding the good things in the land in which we live is a challenge sometimes. But it’s there and well worth the effort when we find it.

Psalm 27:13 (NKJV) 13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living.

Enjoy the goodness of the Lord and don’t stop praying. He is faithful to turn things around.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-315-0902

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Bible verse of The Day – 11-18-18 – The Truth About Trials

Please click to watch the video nowGreetings in the name of Jesus! 

Everyone faces trials at different points in their life. It’s inevitable. 

How we handle those trials is the topic of our latest video, The Truth About Trials. 

Please click here to watch the video now. 

When trials come, most of us tend to react emotionally, becoming afraid of the possible outcome. And we also tend to scramble, searching for a solution based on our own understanding. 

Please click here to watch the video now. 

But, how does God want us to handle our trials. What does He say about them? 

We discuss all of this in our new video. It has information that each and every one of us can benefit from. So, we hope you will take a few minutes and watch it. 

Please click here to watch the video now. 

Enjoy your day and look to God for everything. 

Sincerely in Christ, 

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie 

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808 

401-315-0902

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Bible Verse of The Day – 11-3-18

1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NKJV) 11 Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.

Today may be a hard day for you to face.

Maybe you lost someone dear to you. Maybe your job is at stake. Maybe your finances are in trouble. Maybe your child is sick. You may be facing a huge battle on a personal level.

Whatever this day brings your way, if you look to God for your answer, and you wait on Him to provide for you and bring it to fruition, you will make it through this.

You will look back and know that God did it.

Don’t be deceived into thinking that there is no other choice, that this is it. There is more to this life for you.

Believe today, you will not faint. Your situation will change and the personal battle that you face will come to an end. Follow His leading. He is faithful to deliver.

Be comforted and edified today. Our Redeemer lives.

Job 19:25 (NKJV) 25 For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth…

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-315-0902

If you know someone who will enjoy this or be encouraged by it, please feel free to share it with them!

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