Day 25 – Transformed by trouble

God has a purpose behind every problem

Jesus warned us that we would have problems in the world. Not all of them are big, but all are significant in God’s growth process for you. Your most profound and intimate experiences of worship will likely be in your darkest days – when we’re in pain, we don’t have the energy for superficial prayers. (When your heart is broken, when you feel abandoned, when you’re out of options, when the physical pain of illness is great – and you turn to God)

We learn things about God in suffering that we can’t learn any other way. Problems force us to look to God and depend on Him instead of ourselves. Everything that happens to a Child of God is something that He intends to use for good, even when Satan and others mean it for bad.

Romans 8:28-29 ~ “We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose for them”.

(I feel so blessed that I was reminded of this promise at this point in my personal life – needed to hear that!)

BUILDING CHRISTLIKE CHARACTER

Every problem is a character building opportunity, and the more difficult it is, the greater the potential for building spiritual muscle and moral fibre. Your circumstances are temporary, but your character will last forever. God will take you through the same experiences Jesus went through including loneliness, temptation, stress, criticism, rejection; even the threat of death.

RESPONDING TO PROBLEMS AS JESUS WOULD

+ REMEMBER that God’s plan is good

Whenever God says no to your request for relief, remember to stay focused on God’s plan, not your pain or problems. The secret of endurance is to remember that your pain is temporary but your reward will be eternal.

‘If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within you’ll be depressed. But if you look at Christ you’ll be at rest’. – Corrie ten Boom

+ REJOICE and give thanks

Notice that God tells us to give thanks ‘IN all circumstances’ and not ‘FOR all circumstances’. (God doesn’t expect us to be thankful for the bad, for the abnormal, for the hurtful, for evil, for sin, for suffering, or for their painful consequences in the world.) The Bible says, “Rejoice in the Lord always”. We can also rejoice in knowing that God is going through the pain with us. God will never leave us on our own. (I reckon He often intercedes by putting that special person, or persons, in our lives to navigate the troubled waters)

+ REFUSE to give up

Be patient and persistent. Character building is a slow process. You know you are maturing when you begin to see the Hand of God in random, baffling and seemingly pointless circumstances of life. Don’t ask, ‘Why me?’, instead ask, ‘What do you want me to learn?’. TRUST GOD... Don’t give up – grow up!

Hard truths… ~ Stafford

“These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” -Deuteronomy 6: 6-7