I attended two funerals last week. Both were friends. One was fighting for his life the other one took his own life. One was a hero and one was defeated. The friend that took his life decided that death was the only solution to his pain. He could not see the mountain top because he allowed himself to focus only on the valley. We have all been there when the pain becomes so bad we want to give up. We refuse to see the flowers because of the weeds. We become so entangled with our pain that we cannot believe that things will ever get better. The good news is that there is joy beyond the pain, but we have to hang in there and believe in the happiness that is within our grasp.
Life can be such a blessing, but sometimes it can be hard. We live in an unperfect world, and nothing works the way it’s supposed to. Things break. Our bodies wear out. We grow old and die. People kill each other. Marriages break up. Children get hooked on drugs or alcohol or sex. Or all three. Babies are born with defects that cannot be corrected. Priests molest children. Pastors commit adultery. Our friends disappoint us. And we disappoint our friends.
Bad things happen to all of us. and sometimes we have no control over many things that happen to us or to those around us., but we do have complete control over how we respond. Struggles are inevitable, lifelong and ultimately beneficial. We encounter God’s grace through our trials in ways that would not happen if the trials had not come in the first place. It takes a mature person to understand this principle, and ironically, it is this principle that makes us mature.
I have a sign in my office that reads, "Be a Student, Not a Victim". I am not sure who originated the statement, but the meaning is profound. Many people are professional victims, always talking about how unfair life is. A victim says, “Why did this happen to me?” A student says, “I don’t care why it happened. I want to learn what God is trying to teach me.” A victim looks at everyone else and cries out, “Life isn’t fair.” A student looks at life and says, “What happened to me could have happened to anybody.” A victim feels so sorry for himself that he has no time for others. A student focuses on helping others so that he has no time to feel sorry for himself. A victim begs God to remove the problems of life so that he might be happy. A student has learned through the problems of life that God alone is the source of all true happiness.
No matter who we are or where we live, trouble is just a phone call away. A doctor may say, “I’m sorry. You’ve got cancer.” Or the voice may inform you that your teenager has just been arrested. Or you may be fired without warning. Or someone you trusted may start spreading lies about you. Or your spouse may decide they don’t want to be married anymore. The list is endless, and the solutions are sometimes difficult to find.
My own difficulties have caused me to feel anger and despair. It is hard to find joy in life when we are hurting, isn't it? But, I have learned that I have to make a conscious choice to seek joy when hard times come. Truthfully, it’s probably a choice I’ll have to make again and again and again. And to do it I’ll have to take the long view of life, to understand that what I see is not the final chapter of the story. If I can make the choice to view life that way, then I can accept that my struggles are necessary for my growth. I believe that everything that happens to us is either caused by God or sent by God.
Don’t trust your feelings when trials emerge in your life.! When those you love are in great pain or when you face senseless tragedy or when friends turn against you or when life tumbles in around you, your feelings won’t be an accurate guide. You won’t “feel” joyful or grateful or full of trust normally. You are quite likely to be filled with a whole bag of negative emotions. So don’t judge your circumstances by your feelings. Judge your circumstances by the Word of God. When you do that, a powerful conclusion emerges: These trials provide hope that God will use to benefit His children. Seeing things God’s way doesn’t cancel your trials and it doesn’t turn them into non-trials, but it does transform your evaluation of those trials. You will view them differently because you believe that God intends them to give you a great benefit that could not come any other way.
Since. we are human it is hard to seek the joy when we are surrounded by problems. Joy does mean the absence of all pain. Joy is deep satisfaction that comes from knowing that God is in control even when our circumstances seem to be out of control. The key to joy is knowing that God is in control. If you know that, you can be satisfied at a very deep level even while you weep over what is happening around you and to you.
There are many of us who make some disappointment, some loss, some grief, the excuse for shirking plain duty. There is nothing more selfish than sorrow, and there is nothing more absorbing unless we guard against its tendency to monopolize. There is nothing that so lightens the weight of a lifelong sorrow as to make it the stimulus to a lifelong devotion; and if our patience has its perfect work, it will not make us sit with folded hands, weeping for the days that are no more, but it will drive us into heroic and energetic service.
We need to focus on the promises of God. Dwell in the Word of God. Give thanks for what you can give thanks for. Refuse to give in to bitterness and despair. Make a conscious choices to seek joy. Make up your mind to go on with life. Grief is good and proper and is healing and even ennobling, but after grief has done its work of healing and helping, then we must move on. The past is gone and we can’t go back.
Sometimes God uses suffering to test our faith. Will you still obey God in the darkness? Will you serve God when things aren’t going your way? Will you hold on to the truth when you feel like giving up? The Lord uses times of difficulty to humble us. When things are going well, we tend to get puffed up about our accomplishments. But let the darkness fall and we are on our knees crying out to God. God also uses hard times to prepare us to minister to others. He comforts us so that we may comfort others.
Until your faith is put to the test, it remains theoretical. You never know what you believe until hard times come. Then you find out, for better or for worse. When the phone rings with bad news, when your son winds up in prison, when your best friend betrays you, when you lose your job, when your parents suddenly die, when life comes apart at the seams, then you discover what you truly and actually believe in the depth of your soul. Until then, your faith is speculative because it is untested. You can talk about heaven all you want, but you’ll discover whether or not you believe in it when you stand by the casket of someone you love.
Do not give up no matter what happens or how bad life may be. Hold on for better days. When trials have finished their work in us, we will not lack anything the Lord wants us to have. If we need faith, we will have it. If we need hope, we will have it. If we need love, we will have it. Nothing will be left out; nothing will be left behind.
When trials come (and they will come to all of us eventually), there is something we can’t know and something we can know: We can’t always know why things happen the way they do. No matter how hard we try to figure things out, there will always be many mysteries in life. The greater the tragedy, the greater will be the mystery. God does not explain himself to us. As we go through life, we can look back and see many blanks that we wish God would fill in for us. Most of the time we will carry those unfilled blanks with us all the way to heaven. When hard times come, we can know that God is at work in our trials for our benefit and for his glory. To say that is to say nothing more than the words of Romans 8:28. For the children of God, “all things” do indeed work together for good. Sometimes we will see it; often we will simply have to take it by faith. But it is true whether we believe it or not. There is no growth without struggle.
First, there are the timid, those who fear the trials of life. The message is, Be of good cheer. Fear not. Nothing can touch you that does not first pass through the hands of your Heavenly Father. Though the arrow be shot by the evil one, it cannot touch you unless God should will it so. And your Father who loves you will never give you more than you can bear. Though you may feel that you are far past the limit, you aren’t. God measures his trials along with his blessings. If he afflicts you, it is not to destroy you but to develop in you the gold of Christlike character.
And to those who are suffering right now? Nothing is wasted—not your pain, your tears, your confusion or even your doubts. All of it is grist for the mill of God’s loving purpose. “Behind a frowning providence, he hides a smiling face.” Receive with joy what God has given you, and bless his name When hard times come, when trials fall upon us, or we seem to fall upon them, when the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune knock us to the ground, what should we do? Remember these two words. Pray and stay. Don’t run. Don’t hide. Don’t shake your fist at God. Don’t start arguing with the Almighty. And don’t waste time trying to make excuses or empty promises. And don’t try to bargain your way out of trouble. It doesn’t work, and you don’t have anything to bargain with anyway. Seek God’s face. Spend time with the Lord. Listen for his voice. Ask God, “What are you trying to teach me? Wait. Be patient. Don’t rush God. (You can’t rush him!) Refuse to run away. Affirm by faith that God is at work even though he seems invisible and your life seems chaotic. And don’t do anything foolish or hasty. If you are tempted to take a quick and easy road out of your troubles, stop a moment and think about it. Give God time to work.
Life is not an easy way and any representations to the contrary are false. There is an abundant life to be had, and there is spiritual victory, and there is joy in the Lord and the filling of the Spirit, but those things don’t come in spite of our trials. Most often they come through and with and alongside our trials. And for the most part, we can’t choose our trials nor can we avoid most of them. But we can choose how we respond. That part is up to us. Joy or bitterness. Forgiveness or anger. Trust or unbelief. Faith or fear. Love or hatred. Kindness or malice.Temperance or self-indulgence. Gentleness or stubbornness. Mercy or revenge. Peace or worry. Hope or despair.
Our perspective makes all the difference. Our trials are not sent to make us fall. They are sent to cause us to soar by grace. They are not meant to defeat us but to be the means to a greater spiritual victory. They are not intended to make us weaker but to make us stronger. They are not sent to hurt us but to help us. Every hard trial is another step on the stairway that leads from earth to heaven.
GOD BLESS
**Are you trying to CLIMB the mountain?!? Or are you SPEAKING to the mountain and TELLING it to move outta your way!!!** **Life and Death is in the Power of YOUR Tongue!! What are you doing with YOUR Mouth?!?** **I Can do ALL things thru Christ who strengthens me!!**
