August 29, 2019 – Click here to listen
Some face tremendous trials and tribulations throughout their lives and others seem to have it fairly easy for a while, but sooner or later we ALL face adversity. I don’t know why God designed life to consist of valleys and peaks; I quit asking. These days I just focus on getting through the dark valleys and on to the next sunny peak.
My kids make fun of me because I pre-record football games. If the team I love wins, I watch the prerecorded game; otherwise I delete it (unwatched) and spare myself the angst of watching my team perform poorly and go down in flames. When I watch a game that I already know has a good outcome, and at some point the game appears to be going poorly, I don’t get all worked up, even if it gets really ugly. I rest easy knowing that eventually my team will prevail. To me it is a much more enjoyable way to watch a game.
In similar fashion, as a Christian who has read and studied the Bible I know that in time things are going to turn out just fine. If we follow the logic above we shouldn’t worry, but almost everyone worries which accomplishes nothing positive.
As for me, I don’t worry. I have faith that God will get me through the tough times, and I have seen some very tough times. This is not to say that I enjoy trials and tribulations. I don’t! The Bible tells us in 1 Peter 1:6 – So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. Yep that is a hard one to adhere to I tell you. I compare this to hitting my thumb with a hammer. Logically I know that it will eventually quit hurting, but when I hit it, it hurts! If I have a friend yapping away telling me not to worry everything is going to be just dandy while I’m still jumping around yowling in pain it just seems to exacerbate the situation and I want to hit them with the hammer and see how they like it. Sometimes it’s better just to allow someone time to cry.
We want to help those who are going through trials and it takes some discernment to do so. Often we can help them the most by allowing them time to grieve and spend time with the Lord. Other times, especially if they are not that close to the Lord or don’t even know Him, we need to offer encouragement and reassurance and let them know that the Lord wants them to draw close during their time of trouble in order for Him to comfort them.
So often folks reject God, blame Him for all of their problems, and develop bitterness towards Him and all of His creation. They turn to drugs, alcohol, sex outside of marriage, overeating, and other satanic traps in their quest for relief. As one might imagine those activities just make things worse.
I’ve often talked about how the Bible teaches that the members of Christ’s church should help others and that we need to witness to them. Well this is a great opportunity for you to do both. We all know people who are suffering from something. Bless them by sharing the good news of what is in store for them eternally and perhaps invite them to attend church with you this Sunday.
1 Peter 5:10
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.