Set down this morning and knew that I needed to write something. The last 4 months or so have been some of the most difficult in my life. I've been laid-off, am close to losing my house, family members with some very serious health issues, and some other issues I won't go into. There are times that I would like to find a small hole and just curl up inside. I feel like somehow that I've failed and the world is just caving in around me. I have to remind myself that this is NOT the time to give up, but to grab ahold of the issues like a bronc rider (yes, I live in the Southwest *smile*), and thank God for the chance to ride. Seems strange !?! Maybe so, but to understand what I mean you need to look to God's word.
For a New Testement example you can look to the book of James. In the first chapter of James verses 2-4 (NLT) it sayes,
"Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything."
Romans 5:3-4 (NIV) also sayes,
"Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perserverence; pererverence, character; and character, hope. And hope does not dissapoint us, because God has poured out his love in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."
Wow! Those are pretty powerful statements. An opportunity for joy!?! Rejoice in our sufferings!?! I know it's hard to see it that way but it's true. And what's more we are never abandoned in our trials. In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul wrote:
"But remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not keep the temptation from becoming too strong that you can't stand up agianst it. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out a way out so that you will not give in to it."
You may be thinking "He's taking about trials and now he's showing us a verse about temptations. These are two different things!" Not really. In all of our trials we must stand up to the temptation to give in, or to blame God. Take heart that you don't share the troubles of Job. He lost his possessions, his family, and was covered in sores from head to toe. His wife approached him told him that for all his problems that he should curse God. Instead of following her advice, in Job 2, verse 10 (NLT) it was written:
He replied, "You are talking like a godless woman. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anyhing bad?" So in all this Job said nothing wrong.
Now I pray someday that I can have that kind of faith. Instead I am weak (as many of us are) and sometimes give in to temptation, or depression. One showing a lack of resolve to follow Christ. The other not trusting in him. Of course I'm not alone in that we all do in times of trial. We're all human and subject to these emotions.
To fight the tempations to give in there are a number of things we can do:
Keep up with our Bible studies and Christian fellowship: I'm grouping these together after reading a short *.pdf about this topic (http://www.scribd.com/doc/17024259/Overcoming-Trials-and-Temptations-Bible-Study-Lesson). In this the writer describes our lives as two dogs fighting. One dog is our sinful nature, while the other is the Holy Spirit. Which one are you going to feed? Which one are you going to make stronger? It's our relationship with God, our Christian friends and family that strengthen the Spiritual nature inside of us.
Pray: Not only are so bringing you problems to God, but you are strengthening yourself through your communication with him.
Don't Give Up: God has promised us to be faithful. We need to do the same. It is stregthening and comforting to kow that in my time of trial God is tempering me. He's making me into something better, something stronger. The thing that I just need to do perervere and not give up. Embrace your inner Badger!
Look to others for strength and support: Don't think that just because you feel alone that you truely are alone. There are people out there just waiting for you to come to them. Friends, family, pastors, counselors, support groups or hotlines are examples of places you can go.
I know this just scratches the surface of this topic. I'll try to touch on it agian sometime. I'll leave you with a few links that I found helpful when writing this...
http://www.openbible.info/topics/trials_and_tribulations
http://bible.org/seriespage/god-works-through-trials-james-11-13
http://www.acts17-11.com/tests.html
http://www.scribd.com/doc/17024259/Overcoming-Trials-and-Temptations-Bible-Study-Lesson
Also Cited
Wiersbe, Warren W. The Bible Exposition Commentary/New Testement Volume 2 Colorado: Cook Communications Ministries, 2001.
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