All tagged Hardship
When following our faith becomes hard, the direction that scripture is taking us becomes a puzzle, or the lure of the world becomes too strong, are we tempted to walk away from our faith? It is one thing to be tempted, because Satan will tempt, but it is quite another to respond to that temptation. God has called us to Him through Jesus much as we choose our friends, because He is confident that we will not desert Him. Are we truly called to Him, or just following the crowd?
Are you in a difficult place in your life? Do you find yourself like the Israelites did when they had the sea before them, and the Egyptians racing to catch them from behind? Do you see no good way out of your predicament? If this is you today then do as Moses told the people “Fear not, stand firm” and trust in God to do the miraculous.
Do you carry around a heavy load of stress, and anxiety that comes from all the problems you have in your life? Do you keep repeating “The Lord won’t put any more on me than I can endure.” as if that were scripture? Yet, the problems keep mounting and you are about to break? Well that saying isn’t scripture, and the Lord never intended that we solve our own problems, but rather that we bring them to Him. We were not created self-sufficient; we were made to need God, to love Him, and be worshipful of Him.
Do you complain about where your faith is leading you, and the hardships and punishments that you must endure along the way? Some of us feel that when we accept the LORD as our one true God, and Jesus as our Savior and Redeemer, that we have reached the pinnacle of life, and that everything should be fragrant and painless from that moment on, but in fact we have just entered into a journey of faith in which we will be challenged, and made to suffer as we grow in faith. So do not grumble at the lessons we are receiving, they are evidence of God’s love.
When disaster comes, or times grow hard to bear, how do you perceive these events in relation to your walk with God? Do you question Him and wonder why He would allow such things to happen to you? Maybe you even think they are of His doing, and that He is mad at you, or in some way displeased. Well friends, we read in the Bible that the Lord has indeed punished some, but for the most part times like these are just the everyday storms of life that bring rain upon us all.
Is your life full of hardship and adversity right now? Are you going through the gates of sorrow, or crossing a desert in which you are feeling lost and parched? Perhaps it is illness, mourning, or some other wrenching moment! If so, then are you tempted to lash out at God and ask Him why, or to look for Jesus and cry out “Where Are You?” Sometimes we feel like we are being punished when nothing could be further from the truth.
It has often been said, and it is true, that we come closest to God when we are in the midst of our suffering... so, how is your life at this moment? Are things going exceptionally well for you? Is your day to day life bountiful, and you find yourself struggling with little to pray for? Perhaps it is time for a good cry! Maybe the tears and sweat of your prayers need to be fed by an emotional response to something dear to you... love is a great example. There is no cry so satisfying in its release and restoration than that of a broken heart.
When times are hard in your life do you think that God has walked away from you, and abandoned the gifts He gave you through Jesus Christ? Do you think that the promise of salvation, His protection, and provision has been reneged on? Well that couldn’t be further from the truth. You see, God’s promises and callings last forever, and remain forever with you as well. When the easy times turn hard, and you suffer, continue to look all the more to God.
Do you complain to God during the times of hardship in your life, or cry out in anguish to Him in the times of pain and suffering as if they were meant to punish you? Perhaps we need to take a lesson from the fruit bearing trees and vines that grow gangly unattended, and don’t produce fruit in quality or quantity. The times we find the hardest are those that benefit us the most.
Do you think God has abandoned you when you are in a season of suffering in your life? Do you look to Him and cry out in anger at your pain? Does doubt come from your strife, or, even the mere endurance of hardship... or do you trust in Him all the more? There is a mystery in suffering; we wonder why God uses adversity and pain to teach us some of faith’s most valuable lessons.
Are you concerned because you are constantly at war within yourself? Does it bother you that there is a struggle going on inside you between good and evil, holy and unholy, or salvation and damnation? Well, take heart because although this conflict is the natural state of man, we have a champion who not only helps us realize the good within ourselves, but helps us to achieve it by defeating sin.