TROUBLED FAITH

I must admit that there are times when my problems turn into troubles.  At first I just shrug my shoulders and keep going. Then, there are the troubles that come one right after the other or all at the same time that’s when my faith becomes maxed-out. “Why, God? Why me?” seems to follow. Our man Moses said just like we might say it, “Lord, why are you treating me, your servant, so harshly?” (Numbers 11:11)

The short answer when the frequency of troubles strains our faith is: that for faith to be faith it must be tested and withstand the testing. Our heavenly Father sends tests to help us strengthen the worthiness of our faith.
Wood is consumed by fire but gold becomes pure by its flames. Our faith will be torched if it only trusts God when everything is going well—when the kids and family are fabulous, when friends are friendly, when the body is functioning and when the job is paying better than expected. Real faith will glow when heated by the Lord’s faithfulness—when family is disfunctional, when friends depart, when the body declines, when employment disappears and the light from the Lord is unseen. When your faith is in dreadful trouble and it proclaims along with Job’s, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him,” it will be the kind that glorifies the greatness of God Himself. This is the faith God wants to see develop in you—a faith that is growing you toward heaven’s virtues. “When we run into problems and trials, we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. (Romans 5:3)
You can’t enjoy the rhythm of a guitar unless its strings are plucked. How will it be possible to experience the blessedness of heaven if we have no experience with the consequences of sin and trouble of earth? Joy is seen in its richness only after traveling through the valley of shadows. The comfort of the recliner is more welcomed after the grind of a long hard day. Ah! Sweet bliss!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The 80-20 Rule

In 1906, Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto created a mathematical formula to describe the unequal distribution of wealth in his country, observing that twenty percent of the people owned eighty percent of the wealth. The Pareto Principle, or 80/20 rule, states that 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.   Although this rule was first applied in Italy when Pareto was looking at the dispersal of wealth, it has since become a rule of thumb for many businesses.   It has been said that 20% of your workforce does 80% of the work, or 80% of your sales come from 20% of your clients.   I think this law comes into play in our lives as well.   Life is 20% what happens to you and 80% what you make of it. There are tons of stories about people who come out of difficult situations — gang life, in and out of jail, drug addiction, broken families, abuse – yet still seem to rise to the top.   And of course, there are many stories of those who have been given...
Read more

Control Yourself

When it comes to our life, we have nothing to say about our birth and little say about our death, but in between these two events most of the decisions are ours to be made. Are you letting life and circumstances control you, or are you controlling your own life and destiny with God’s help. Don't let life pass you by when you have the God-given ability to make things happen. I've heard it said: You can't control the length of your life, but you can control its use. You can't control your facial appearance, but you can control its expression. You can't control the weather, but you can control the moral atmosphere that surrounds you. You can't control the distance of your head above the ground, but you can control the height of the contents in your head. You can't control the other fellow's annoying faults, but you can see to it that you do not develop similar faults. Why worry about things you cannot cont...
Read more

Bounce Back

As a 7th grader in junior high school, I was devastated when I was cut from the starting 8th grade football team and sent to the second team.   I felt disappointed, embarrassed and dejected.   Latter that week, I spoke with my grandfather who passed on these words of wisdom, “It’s not how far you fall, but how high you bounce back that matters.”   I took those words to heart. The Bible says in Proverbs 25:11, “Timely advice is lovely, like golden apples in a silver basket.” I valued his wise words and committed to doing my best for this second string team, instead of pouting and complaining over my sense of failure. I committed to working hard, giving my all to bounce back. It served me well as I entered high school and played on two state championship teams. I learned that day that what happens to me in life doesn’t count as much as how I react to those things.   I had a choice the day I was cut from the team—I could wallow in misery and quit the team, or I ...
Read more