Why we need difficulty

You may not like what I'm about to say but it's true.  We need trials, adversity, difficulty in order to be useful to God.  Let me explain myself.  When things are going your way how often do you think, "Wow, I've got this under control God.  You sit this one out.  I will let you know when I need you again."  We don't go to Him unless we have struggles.  It keeps us close to God.

2 Corinthians 12:7
even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.

The apostle Paul a man who God miraculously converted and writer of 2/3 of the New Testament even needed it.  The verse above tells it all.  He needed a thorn(trial, affliction, ailment, etc) in order to remain humble and therefore used by God.  God doesn't need you to have gifts, talents and abilities but He will use them.  What God wants is for us to realize that He's the one doing the work, giving the gifts, the talents, and the blessings.

Let's keep reading about this thorn and Paul.


8For this thing I sought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9And he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest on me

We may be going through a really tough battle but know that God's grace is enough.  He is our strength.  Our lives are not meant to be lived like we did it all and God just happened to show up to take credit for it.  God created the world in which we live as stated in Genesis and the Bible teaches that He formed us in our mother's womb.  So if He's done all that and it's obvious we can't do the things He does...shouldn't we listen to Him and except what He wants to do.

So often we just go to God and say I want, Lord I need, give me this, help me with that...but we don't realize that if we don't go through difficulty and His perfect divine timing we won't learn anything.  What if you got a million dollars today?  But because you have always been bad with money you just blow right through it.  You are left angry, bitter and broke.  On the other hand what if God gave you poverty for years upon years of your life.  A financial situation so bad that you have to scrape, pray and trust God for every penny.  Then later in life God provides a million dollars do you think you would appreciate it and have a better knowledge of how to use that money?

We need to go through things in order to be more useful to God.  He needs to teach us that we need Him!  What good is a life if we don't know how to use it?  If we use it for our glory we have missed the point.  It's for God's glory that we go through things!

God knows what He is doing and He hears your prayers.  You have to put your faith in Him and know He is your strength. 

Giving thanks for the Trials!!!

We have all been through trials.  We have had difficult days and plenty of things that we just don't want to go through(an illness, relationship issues, family issues, work issues and on and on).  What does God do through  those issues and what does He want us to do as well go through them?  Let's find out!

1 Thessalonians 5:18

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Wait a minute!  So God wants us to thank Him no matter what is going on?  Yes, He does.  In many situations He wants to know will we do what He wants and with what attitude?  

Colossians 3:17

New International Version (NIV)

17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

So whatever we do we need to be giving thanks!  Not just when that job promotion comes, or when that healing happens in your body, but IN ALL THINGS!

2 Thessalonians 1:4

New International Version (NIV)

4 Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.

It's during these trials that God works in us!  Through these tough times God is growing us in our faith and teaching or perseverance!  Just because you became a believer in Jesus Christ and accepted His forgiveness doesn't many that everyday will be puppies and rainbows.  He expects us to grow!

 1 Peter 1:7
New American Standard Bible (©1995)
so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

Romans 5:3
New American Standard Bible (©1995)
And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance;

In this battle we are proving our faith and bringing glory and honor to God.  We must persevere!  You may think it's crazy but we should be praising God we are going through this!  It is refining us and bringing glory to Him!

Proverbs 17:3
New International Version (©2011)
The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests the heart.

God needs to know He can count on you to live for Him not just on those easy carefree days but also when a relationship is broken, we a doctor gives you the report it's cancer, when the car is broken or a job ends and you don't know how you are going to make it.  He's there!  He's providing!  He's healing!  You are not alone!

1 Corinthians 6:19
New American Standard Bible (©1995)
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?

 Hebrews 13:5
New American Standard Bible (©1995)
Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,"

Trust God and thank Him for the situations He has put you in!  He is right there dwelling in you and He will never leave or forsake you!  God knows what He is doing, so trust Him and thank Him!  God is in control!

So each day as we get up let us not complain about or situations, trials, and pain but thank Him that we have another day to grow closer to Him and be more like Him.  Let us trust Him that no matter what He is doing what is best for us and bringing glory to Him.

Forgiveness and Healing

Forgiving is something that is very hard for most of us.  We are hurt and want to take it out on the person who did it or even the closest person to us.  Often we only look at our side of the pain...this person wronged us and who cares what they think or how they feel?  Well that's not exactly how we should be reacting.

First off we are blind to our own sins most of the time.  Some people are very aware and some people are just clueless.  Here are some scriptures to get us started on this road of forgiveness and healing.

Psalm 19:12
But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults. (NIV)

Psalm 32:5
Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD." And you forgave the guilt of my sin. (NIV)

Psalm 79:9
Help us, God our Savior, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for your name's sake. (NIV)

Psalm 130:4
But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you. (NIV)

So now we have acknowledged that we sinned to.  We aren't just victims but people who need forgiveness ourselves.  God is will to give us forgiveness but our we willing to forgive?

Matthew 6:12-15
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (NIV) 


Oh no!  God only forgives us as we forgive others.  So we know that if God isn't forgiving us that we aren't going to Heaven no matter what we do.  We need God's forgiveness!  In order to be forgiven we must also forgive anyone who has done us harm.  You may be thinking you have no idea what people have done to me!  I've been wronged in every way possible!  These people don't deserve to be forgiven!

Who are we to decide what is forgivable and what isn't?  If God is willing to forgive us and anyone else who cries out to Him why are we holding on to this grudge?  It can be many things...pride, anger, bitterness and just looking to blame someone.

We can't hold onto those feelings!  It's hard to forgive but we need to ask God to help us forgive!  Here is an excellent example.

Corrie Ten Boom Story on Forgiving
“It was in a church in Munich that I saw him—a balding, heavyset man in a gray overcoat, a brown felt hat clutched between his hands. People were filing out of the basement room where I had just spoken, moving along the rows of wooden chairs to the door at the rear. It was 1947 and I had come from Holland to defeated Germany with the message that God forgives.
“It was the truth they needed most to hear in that bitter, bombed-out land, and I gave them my favorite mental picture. Maybe because the sea is never far from a Hollander’s mind, I liked to think that that’s where forgiven sins were thrown. ‘When we confess our sins,’ I said, ‘God casts them into the deepest ocean, gone forever. …’
“The solemn faces stared back at me, not quite daring to believe. There were never questions after a talk in Germany in 1947. People stood up in silence, in silence collected their wraps, in silence left the room.
“And that’s when I saw him, working his way forward against the others. One moment I saw the overcoat and the brown hat; the next, a blue uniform and a visored cap with its skull and crossbones. It came back with a rush: the huge room with its harsh overhead lights; the pathetic pile of dresses and shoes in the center of the floor; the shame of walking naked past this man. I could see my sister’s frail form ahead of me, ribs sharp beneath the parchment skin. Betsie, how thin you were!
[Betsie and I had been arrested for concealing Jews in our home during the Nazi occupation of Holland; this man had been a guard at Ravensbruck concentration camp where we were sent.]
“Now he was in front of me, hand thrust out: ‘A fine message, Fräulein! How good it is to know that, as you say, all our sins are at the bottom of the sea!’
“And I, who had spoken so glibly of forgiveness, fumbled in my pocketbook rather than take that hand. He would not remember me, of course—how could he remember one prisoner among those thousands of women?
“But I remembered him and the leather crop swinging from his belt. I was face-to-face with one of my captors and my blood seemed to freeze.
“ ‘You mentioned Ravensbruck in your talk,’ he was saying, ‘I was a guard there.’ No, he did not remember me.
“ ‘But since that time,’ he went on, ‘I have become a Christian. I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there, but I would like to hear it from your lips as well. Fräulein,’ again the hand came out—’will you forgive me?’
“And I stood there—I whose sins had again and again to be forgiven—and could not forgive. Betsie had died in that place—could he erase her slow terrible death simply for the asking?
“It could not have been many seconds that he stood there—hand held out—but to me it seemed hours as I wrestled with the most difficult thing I had ever had to do.
“For I had to do it—I knew that. The message that God forgives has a prior condition: that we forgive those who have injured us. ‘If you do not forgive men their trespasses,’ Jesus says, ‘neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.’
“I knew it not only as a commandment of God, but as a daily experience. Since the end of the war I had had a home in Holland for victims of Nazi brutality. Those who were able to forgive their former enemies were able also to return to the outside world and rebuild their lives, no matter what the physical scars. Those who nursed their bitterness remained invalids. It was as simple and as horrible as that.
“And still I stood there with the coldness clutching my heart. But forgiveness is not an emotion—I knew that too. Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart. ‘… Help!’ I prayed silently. ‘I can lift my hand. I can do that much. You supply the feeling.’
“And so woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me. And as I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes.
“ ‘I forgive you, brother!’ I cried. ‘With all my heart!’
“For a long moment we grasped each other’s hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God’s love so intensely, as I did then”

So forgive others so God can forgive you!  Be set free from the trap you've been held in of bitterness, hatred, and anger.  Let God heal your heart and forgive you!

Psalm 34:18 ESV / 

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

What did quitting ever accomplish?

Often we want something..maybe something to happen and we pray.  Months go by and then years but we don't get the desired results from our prayer.  We pray for salvation of friends and family members, children who have turned away from God, a better job, a new house, a wife, a husband, a restored marriage.

We get discouraged and say I prayed but it didn't work.  God didn't answer my prayer!  We doubt God and before we know it we are really in a mess and need prayer more than ever.  We try to fix it on our own.  Then we turn our backs on God totally and angrily because we don't get our way in our timing.  We want our answer now!  How dare God answer anyone's prayers but ours!

God is not a genie!  He is not Burger King who says "Have it your way." 

Do we even understand what prayer is?

According to Merriam-Webster's dictionary it's this 

Definition of PRAYER

1

a (1) : an address (as a petition) to God or a god in word or thought prayer

for the success of the voyage> (2) : a set order of words used in praying

b : an earnest request or wish

2

: the act or practice of praying to God or a god prayer

>

3

: a religious service consisting chiefly of prayers —often used in plural

4

: something prayed for

5

: a slight chance prayer

> 

 

When I see the word wish I cringe because it reminds me of wishing wells, genies and just fiction.

 

Here are some Bible verses on prayer to help you and keep you from quitting. 

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV)
if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

 

James 5:13-16 (NIV)
Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

 

 1 John 5:14-15 (NIV)
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

 

Matthew 6:5-6 (NIV)
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Matthew 6:9-15 (NIV)
“This, then, is how you should pray:
” ‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one. For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

 

Now these are just a few verses but lets take a look at them.  First we notice that God wants us to humble ourselves and seek Him and turn from our wicked ways(sin).  So we can't go to God all puffed up with our request like we are doing Him some huge favor by praying.  He knows our motivations when we pray. 

 

 Second we notice that we need to have faith and confess our sins.   Too often we pray but as a last resort.  That tells God right away where our faith is.  We have tried everything...so we might as well try God.  We must believe He is able to do that which we are praying for.  He don't do anything without our faith.  It also takes repentance.  That means we need to ask God to forgive us of our sins.

Third we need to be asking for things that are God's will.  Praying for a million dollars to spend on yourself doesn't seem to add up to His will now does it?  We need to pray for things such as salvation of others.  Pray for other people's problems, dreams and desires.  Pray is not just about getting what we want it's about praying for what God wants.  If you believe He wants you to use your talents for Him a certain way pray for it.  If you have a financial need(not a HD tv) such as rent after losing a job He can and will provide.  Not always in the way we want or how we expected but He does provide for His children.

Fourth we need to pray in private.  We don't need to spout off this super fancy prayer in front of everyone to get our prayers answered.  He hears us just as much in private as He does in public.  There are lots of prayer needs that require privacy of others as well.  We don't need to make prayer into a gossip session.  Example:Oh God, please help so and so for they are adulters who just can't find their way and my brother is a liar so please fix him, etc.

Fifth we need to prayer the prayer of Matthew 6:9-15.  It lays everything out there.  It covers everything that is at the core of our relationship with God.  It puts the emphasis on His will and our needs.

I would also like to add a few things.  Pray scripture!  Proclaim it over your life!  It is God's word.  Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Proverbs 30:5 

Isaiah 55:10-11

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ As the rain and the snow
    come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
    without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
    so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Last of all don't forget this 

Galatians 6:9

New International Version (NIV)

⁹ Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

 

The key is don't give up.  God works in His own timing!  It requires patience.  Here is a great example 

Genesis 21 - The Birth of Isaac

A. The birth of Isaac.

1. (1) God fulfills His promise to Abraham and Sarah.

And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken.

a. The Lord visited Sarah as He had said: It took a long time (25 years) for this promise to come to pass, but God was faithful to His promise. God’s promises never fail.

b. As He had spoken: The promise of a son was not fulfilled because Abraham was perfect in his obedience, but because God was faithful to His Word.

i. Some promises of God are conditional and depend on something we must do. Other promises of God are unconditional, and God will fulfill them not because of what we do, but because of who He is.

Great quotes about God!

“People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”
― Mother Teresa

 “I know God won't give me anything I can't handle. I just wish he didn't trust me so much.”
― Mother Teresa

 “The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.”
― C.S. Lewis


“God will not look you over for medals, degrees or diplomas but for scars.”
― Elbert Hubbard
 

“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”
― C.S. Lewis

 

“I have faith that God will show you the answer. But you have to understand that sometimes it takes a while to be able to recognize what God wants you to do. That's how it often is. God's voice is usually nothing more than a whisper, and you have to listen very carefully to hear it. But other times, in those rarest of moments, the answer is obvious and rings as loud as a church bell.”
― Nicholas Sparks, The Last Song 

 

“I sought to hear the voice of God and climbed the topmost steeple, but God declared: "Go down again - I dwell among the people.”
― John Henry Newman 

 

“Sometimes God allows what he hates to accomplish what he loves.”
― Joni Eareckson Tada, The God I Love   

Don't Give Up

We all have times when we think we can't do it anymore.  You want to quit praying or trusting God for something that has been taking quite a while.  We might not even be able to see what God is doing because we are so overwhelmed by our emotions that we are spiritually blind.  Please take some time to read these three scriptures and proclaim them over your life today and everyday until you believe it!

“And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.”  Deuteronomy  8:2 (NKJV)

 “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything to hard for Me?”  Jeremiah 32:27 (NKJV)

I called on Your name O LORD, from the lowest pit. You have heard my voice: Do not hide Your ear from my sighing, from my cry for help. You drew near on the day I called on You and said “Do not fear.”  Lamentations 3:55-57 (NKJV)

Remember He is always with us!  We are never alone and He has never walked away or turned His back on us!  Trust Him and proclaim scripture over your life everyday! 

Changing Our Mindsets

In the news everyday we see news of terrible things, murders, deaths, attacks, kidnappings and natural disasters just to name a few.  We can listen to music about broken relationships, watch television programs and movies filled with violence and dysfunction.  If this is what we put into ourselves what do you expect to come out of us?

Luke 21:34 ESV 

“But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.

If we dwell on these things God says that it's a trap.  We aren't meant to be weighed down with the world.  So what are we supposed to think about?  How are we to use and renew our minds?

Romans 12:2 ESV / 

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

2 Corinthians 10:3-6 ESV / 

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

Isaiah 26:3 ESV / 

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

Philippians 4:4-9 ESV / 

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ..

2 Timothy 1:7 ESV / 

For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

Proverbs 4:23 ESV / 

Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

Proverbs 17:22 ESV / 

A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

Based on these scriptures we are to trust God, have a joyful heart, we will receive peace from God when we keep on mind on Him and by staying in His word(Bible) He will help us to understand what is good and what His will is. 

Many people often feel like God doesn't speak to them, but if you aren't spending time reading the Bible how can you?  He speaks to us through His word, it's not the only way He can speak to us.  Sometimes we are looking for a sign and want to hear a clear voice.  God can do that too but are we giving Him the opportunity or are we too busy to even notice when He is speaking to us.  We can get to the point where all we are doing is saying God fix this and not listen to Him.  We need to get alone so we can hear His still small voice.

1 Kings 19:11-13

King James Version (KJV)

¹¹ And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:
¹² And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
¹³ And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?

It's so easy to send a million prayers up to God but not take the time to be still and quiet to hear Him.  We need to take the time to listen.  To trust Him.  Sometimes He will give you a scripture for a certain situation such as Psalm 46:10 He says, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."  Being still can be very hard in our culture where we get what we want instantly.  But God does thing in His own timing and often requires us to wait.

Isaiah 40:31 ESV / 

But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Psalm 27:13-14 ESV / 

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

James 5:7-8 ESV / 

Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV / 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

2 Peter 3:9 ESV / 

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

Psalm 33:20-22 ESV / 

Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.

Isaiah 30:18 ESV / 

Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.

James 5:11 ESV / 

Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

These are just a few examples about waiting on God.  Please take the time today to renew your mind, trust God, and wait.  He will do what He was said He will do but in His timing.