Encouraged & Grateful

What a blessed weekend it has been. I tell you can't nobody do me like Jesus. Friday night He encouraged me through song while at an appreciation service for one of the minister's of music at a local church. Then last night so much fun with my fellow singles in our singles ministry outing for the month. While I was there I was encouraged yet again when friend sent me a photo of breast cancer survivors being honored that night during halftime of a football game-great cloud of witnesses-God is going to bless me to be in that number one day. God did not stop there...as I was looking at the background scripture for the what I thought was the right fulfillment hour (Sunday school) lesson, 2 scriptures resonated with my spirit that give 2 of God's purposes for allowing us to go through: 1) 2 Corinthians 1:4 which says, "Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort where with we ourselves are comforted." While going through is ultimately beneficial to us, it's about more than us. There's a bigger picture. God takes us through some things in preparation for Him to use us in greater levels of ministry. 2) 2 Corinthians 1:9 which says, "But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:"-to teach us to trust in Him; so that He can show us via firsthand experience how able and trust-worthy He is, that our faith would be increased that much more. Then during service a word of encouragement shared at church and directed specifically at those who'd ever been diagnosed with any type of cancer. Really blessed me-those words were given to the sister who shared them by God. No doubt in my mind about that and I'm glad she listened and shared. Then after church encouraged even further by the fact that God had raised up another sister to be a part of the support system that He has constructed. Many of the means by which God has encouraged me has come through His people. That is one reason why it's so important that we stay connected to the body and refuse to isolate ourselves from God's people when we're when times get rough. TGBTG for all He's done, is doing and will do.