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Encouragement For Difficult Times

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One quality we are most proud of is our ability to persevere through so many difficult times.  We have been through so much both in our lives and our racing careers that it seems like just as we get through one trial another one has already started.  At some point we could write a book about all the hardships we have had to face.  The details of those trials are not important, what got us through them is.

 Yes, both Brandi and I are strong willed people (some would call us stubborn) and our children all seem to have that trait in them as well.  However, what we have learned is that we are not able to do things ourselves.  Our lives are an interesting study because we lived the first part of our adult lives with out God, doing things our own way.  Our strong will seemed to get us out of one bad situation, but our method of getting through it put us into a far worse situation.  Finally, in 2000, we both had enough of the downward spiral and decided to get right with God and to accept Jesus as our Savior.

 (NOTE:  One of the most important decisions you can make is choosing to accept or reject Jesus.  If you have not done this (or are not sure), please click here to learn more.)

 What a difference that made.  The trials did not stop, but our ability to navigate through them without making things worse changed everything.  One thing we have learned is that you may not always know right now why you are facing a trial in your life. 

 Why we have trials

There are many reasons we face trials:

·          To glorify God (Daniel 3:16-18, 24-25)

·          Discipline for known sin (Hebrews 12:5-11; James 4:17; Romans 14:23; 1 John 1:9)

·          To prevent us from falling into sin (1 Peter 4:1-2)

·          To keep us from pride. Paul was kept from pride by his "thorn in the flesh" (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

·          To build faith (1 Peter 1:6-7) 

·          To cause growth (Romans 5:3-5) 

·          To teach obedience and discipline (Acts 9:15-16; Philippians 4:11-13)

·          To equip us to comfort others (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

·          To prove the reality of Christ in us (2 Corinthians 4:7-11)

·          For testimony to the angels (Job 1:8; Ephesians 3:8-11; 1 Peter 1:12)

SOURCE:  www.khouse.org

Go to the List

The first thing we do is to go to this list.  If you are a Christian, others around you will be watching how you handle yourself.  It is very difficult to not lash out and become angry at God when something bad happens to you or someone you love.  We know that it is Satan messing with us and he wants to make God look bad, so the first thing we do is put on our armor for God and do everything possible to not let Satan win.  For more on that see “ Why Bad Things Happen”.

Examine Your Life

The second thing we need to do is to look for a known sin in our life that we should be disciplined for.  God is a loving father, but like all loving fathers, He will discipline us for sins we have committed.  Yes, if we believe in Him and ask for forgiveness, we will be forgiven, but that doesn’t mean we will get away without consequences.

 One thing to understand though is that God uses logical consequences.  This also goes along with the “To teach obedience and discipline” listed above.  Think about some examples: 

Gambling is a sin.  The consequences could be financial ruin, problems in your marriage, job loss, etc.  God can use any of those trials to remind you why He doesn’t want you to gamble any more.   

Drunkenness is a sin.  The consequences could be financial ruin, problems in your marriage, sickness, fights, abuse, jail time, etc.  God can use any of those trials to remind you why he doesn’t want you to get drunk again.

Flirting with a co-worker is a sin (coveting/adultery).  The consequences could be divorce, problems with your children, financial ruin, job loss, etc.  God can use any of those trials to remind you why he wants you to stop flirting with people you aren’t married to. 

God wants us to have a good life.  The things that can prevent us from that are what He calls sins.  If there were no consequences for our sins, we would all sin all the time.  It is very important to examine your life and see if the trial you are going through is a LOGICAL consequence to a sin you have committed.  Is God pointing out something that you need to stop doing?  

Know the Enemy

This is a spiritual battle between God and Satan.  Satan’s goal is to steal every soul that he can and to prevent us from enjoying the gifts God has prepared for us.  We should never under estimate the power of Satan.  He is described as a lion, prowling for the weak.  One thing to know about Satan though is he is not omniscient, which means he doesn’t know everything that can, has, or will happen.  If he finds an attack that works, he will constantly use that attack to throw you away from your walk with God.  He will also attack that which is most important to you.  If you have God as your number one priority, you become a difficult target.  If something is more important to you than God, those things become an easy target for Satan to use against you.

 If you stop letting Satan’s attacks work on you and let him know that no earthly thing is more important than your walk with God, he will have to find another way to attack you.  It doesn’t mean the attacks will stop, but they will become easier to handle.

 One other thing to remember—-if you are attempting to “step up” your walk with God (i.e. becoming a Christian, wanting to read the Bible more often, wanting to serve in your church, etc), Satan will initially attack you with all that he has.  I am not wanting to discourage you, just to let you know it is coming.  If you know the attack is coming, it is much easier to defend.  The better you handle it, the sooner the attack will be over.

 Just remember….in the end, Satan loses and will be thrown in the lake of fire.  He wants to take you with him and keep you from spending eternity with God. 

Preparing for our future

This is a spiritual battle between God and Satan.  Satan’s goal is to steal every soul that he can and to prevent us from enjoying the gifts God has prepared for us.  As you can see from the remaining items on the list, they are all there to prepare us for our future so that we can fight off Satan’s attacks and help others as well.

 God can use these trials that Satan throws our way to strengthen us, keep us humble, to help others, and to train us for something that we will face in the future.  As we’ve grown in our relationship with God, we can look back and see how God used something that Satan meant to harm us and turned it into something good.

 During difficult times, one of my favorite stories is the story of Joseph.  You can read it in Genesis 39-50.  My favorite passage from that story that I draw on is:

 “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Genesis 50:20

The reason I love that story is because Joseph’s life was turned completely upside down, but God had a plan to save the entire world through Joseph.  It took decades for it to all come to fruition.  I know God probably won’t use me to do that type of thing, but I do know that he wants ALL of us to succeed and he is training us so that we can.

See also:

Why Bad Things Happen

Coping With Pain

Salvation Plan

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Last modified: August 19, 2008