“Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.” (1 Peter 4:12 NLT)
Has something bad ever happened and our first thought goes to: “Oh me. What did I do? I must have done something terrible. Otherwise, this wouldn’t have happened”? And before we knew it, we fell headlong into a pity party, taking ourselves apart piece by piece to see where we went wrong. We have all done something similar. It’s our human nature to do so.
But has the thought ever occurred that maybe we have done absolutely nothing wrong, and God is simply testing our faith? This is an important truth for us to understand, because if we don’t, we may get discouraged.
In the varied experiences of life, at one point or another, I’m sure we have all uttered the words which are no doubt in the heart of most every person experiencing trouble or temptation: "WHY ME?"
God leads us in another direction. God wants us to ask: "WHY NOT ME?"
Being a Christian does not in any way protect us from the very real unavoidable problems of life. In fact sometimes it would almost seem that the OPPOSITE IS TRUE!! The Christian at times seems to experience more than their fair share of problems and troubles.
We must constantly remind ourselves of the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 5:7, "We walk by faith and not by sight." If we try and reverse it and try to walk by SIGHT instead of faith, we will fail miserably!
Think about it. Many experiences of life make us more able to help others in their similar difficulties.
In any situation, God offers to give us His beauty in exchange for our ashes. He offers His faith for our fears, healing for our brokenness, joy for our sadness! He wants to swap His Success for our failures, and peace for worries.
He is inviting us to “cast your heavy burdens onto Him” and allow Him to lighten the load.
What others may want to use to harm us, God wants to turn around to use it to bless us and others! He wants us to put His positive next to our negative so that we can live abundantly IN HIM! This empowers us to live the abundant life He came to give!
Paul says that nothing shall separate us from the love of Christ. So when we start wondering why God allows something to happen TO ME, remember, He never said we would not face difficulties along the way. Trials, hardships and challenges will come into our lives. The Book of James does not make the point, IF the trials come, but James says WHEN they come, we can be prepared.
God says that we will never be outside of His care. So don’t Judge God’s love based on our situations; instead look for Him in the midst of them. Just like God was with Shaddrach, Meshach & Abednego in the fiery furnace, just like he was with Jonah in the belly of the whale, or Daniel in the lion’s den – He will be there for us!
Holding on to our faith in God in the face of disappointments, discouragement and difficulties allows God to empower us for victory!
Hello Again!!
7 years ago
