A Year of Choices…
By Barbara Dahlgren from Barbara’s Banter at www.barbdahlgren.com
Oswald Chambers once wrote, “The typical view of the Christian life is that it means being delivered from all adversity. But it actually means being delivered in adversity, which is something quite different…”
God never promised the Christian life would be free of hardships, temptations, sorrow, or suffering. In fact 1 Peter 4:12 tells us to expect such things. Yet we are always surprised when they happen.
Many think if our faith is strong enough, bad things won’t happen to us. That’s simply not true. And shame on those who go to suffering people and add to their misery by telling them if they had enough faith they wouldn’t be going through some horrendous trial. Those who promote such ideas have not spent much time reading the Bible. Job suffered. Paul suffered. Stephen suffered. The twelve apostles suffered. Jesus, the most innocent man of all, suffered.
Some faithful Christians will get diseases and die no matter how many sincere prayers are said for healing. Some will be gunned down by random acts of violence, no matter how pure their lives have been. Some husbands will leave beautiful wives no matter how faithful and loving those wives have been. Dedicated Christians will face loneliness, death, anxiety, suffering, temptation, fear, exhaustion, conflict, poverty, and uncertainty just like everyone else.
Consider this… Perhaps God tells us to expect trials so we can determine ahead of time how to react when they come.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had predetermined that even if God decided not to deliver them from the fiery furnace they would still believe and follow God. (Daniel 3:16-20)
Habakkuk had predetermined he would rejoice in God no matter what happened. “Though the fig tree does not blossom, and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will be joyful in God my Savior.” (Habakkuk 3:17-19)
Habakkuk was not going to rejoice because of trials, but he could rejoice in spite of trials because he knew God loved him, was at work in his life, and would be with him no matter what came his way. He would never have to go through a trial alone, feeling like there was no purpose to his suffering.
David said, “I will bless the Lord all times…” (Psalms 34:1) This means even during trials.
We can learn a lot through trials. Paul found that out and concluded he could do quite a lot through God’s strength, not his own (Philippians 4:11-13), because God can use trials to build our faith. If we focus on Jesus instead of our trials we grow spiritually and develop trust, perseverance, hope, patience, and peace. These qualities rarely manifest themselves when all is going well.
We can choose how we are going to handle our trials before they come. Peter tells us to stay prepared for action and determined to focus on Jesus. (1 Peter 1:13) The closer we are to God before the trials come, the easier it will be to look beyond our circumstance to Jesus. Trials can make us bitter or better. We make the choice! Daily building a relationship with God makes this choice easier.
Suggestions for practicing this choice…
- Make prayer a daily habit. Whether long or short, pray throughout the day. Stay in communion with God.
- Make Bible study a daily habit. Whether it’s an in depth study, or just reading a verse or two, get your nose in the Bible every day.
- Make mediation a daily habit. Why not choose a daily scripture and focus on how it impacts your life throughout a day?
- Praise God daily. When you see a sunset, praise God. When you hear a child laugh, praise God. When you hear a bird sing, praise God.
- Thank God daily for all your many blessings – big and small. Are you alive? Thank God! He wants you to live another day! And if He doesn’t, that’s okay too. Paul said, “To live is Christ, to die is gain.” In other words – if we live – thank God because we live. If we die – thank God because we go to be with Him. (Philippians 1:21)
