Pray, praise and continue

I saw a post by a well known speaker this morning that caused me to think quite a bit.  It had to do with our attitude toward trials.  I’m offering my thinking process to you.  I have been through more than some and less than others.  I’ve prayed, then sat quietly and believed at times.  Other times, I’ve cried, screamed, thrown a fit or despaired.  I’ve learned a powerfull lesson.  “This too shall pass.”

I believe in asking God for help with our struggles.  I don’t think God is offended by our cries to get us out of trouble, but I also believe that sometimes he does not deliver us at the time or in the way that we would expect.

I think that struggles and difficulties have two main purposes in our lives:  1- to teach us valuable lessons and bring patience, maturity and understanding, 2 - to purge sinful acts, bad habits and wrong attitudes from our lives thereby precluding a greater ill in the future.  Beyond that, I would say that these increase faith and stamina. 

The pages of life turn quickly or slowly, but they do turn.  If you are going through a trial, go through it.  Don’t take up residence.  The nation of Israel went through the desert.  It took them 40 years because of unbelief and disobedience -which boils down to unbelief, but their wanderings did come to an end.  They pitched tents, but they didn’t build houses in the wilderness.  Keep moving through it; don’t give up.

Don’t let the trial define you; let it refine you.  A diamond is only a rock until it has been cut.  A piece of gold has only potential value until it goes through fire.  You will come out the other side of this.  Faith looks to the future while living in the present.  Know who you are before God.  Meekness understands our strength and our weakness, our success and our failure, our abilities and our shortcomings and keeps these in perspective to the power, the will and the purpose of God.  Our value is seen through the truth of God, not in relation to the will or expectations of people.  We are weak but God is great and we are loved. 

Grumbling brings defeat; self-pity brings bitterness and separation.  Faith says “With God all things are possible,” prays, gives thanks and waits for the answer. 

When faced with one particularly difficult battle situation the leader of God’s people was told to put musicians and singers in front of the army and to go out with the praise of God.  Paul and Silas sang praises and the doors of their prison unlocked.  Then they were allowed to win the jailer and his family to Christ. Praise changes us first, then it changes our perception, and then it changes the dynamic of the problem.

We do not praise God because of the battle; we praise him because we know he brings victory and cares deeply for us in spite of the battle.  We are not thankful for the illness or hardship.  We are thankful for God’s unfailing love and care and for the times we have seen him work in our life and the lives of others, bringing assurance that he is the answer to the hardship.  God doesn’t want fake praise.  We all have reasons to praise if we search for them.  I’ve found praise to bring more change than all my other efforts.

One last note:  If you are seeing others in a trial, pray for them, encourage them and lend a hand if you can.  You may be the strength God will use to get him or her through it.

Blessings