Every human being goes through difficulties in life at some point, and sometimes they seem to have no end. For Pastor Joel Engel, however, trials can be seen from another perspective, in this case, that of personal “awakening” regarding the need for God and change.
In a ministry held on the 7th of that month, the pastor first explained that God makes a point of showing his love and mercy to sinners, so that they have the chance to change and overcome their difficulties.
“The first manifestation of God’s power was love. The power that emanated from God to create the earth came from this place of love,” he said. “Only God expresses love to someone who has done nothing to deserve it. That’s what makes God, God.”
Classifying the human struggle against sin as a “process”, the pastor explains that it is not possible to win this battle without a genuine relationship with God, since human beings, due to the fall of Adamic sin, have an inclination towards evil.
“The earthly nature, which makes us act worse than animals, and the spiritual nature, which causes us to seek God,” he said. “We have two wolves within us: the good wolf and the bad wolf. If you feed the bad inside you will do bad things, and if you feed the good wolf you will do good things.”
Resilience
Despite the inclination to sin, God offered us saving grace through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, which is the means of overcoming difficulties. To do so, there needs to be a change of perspective with regard to trials.
“Grace is a favor that I don’t deserve, that comes and reaches us. All people who come to Christ come filled with sin and failure. This is how human beings are”, explains the pastor. “But we are on this earth in a process. All the tests we go through have the objective of awakening the best that is inside you.” Watch: