When you’re going through trouble, there’s one thing you need to know. In God’s economy, nothing is ever wasted.
That’s the phrase my wife shouted out to me today as I was on the phone trying to encourage a friend going through tough times.
When you go through difficulty, there are often no easy answers to the question “why?” Sometimes we bring trouble on ourselves through wrong decisions. But often there is no apparent reason for our suffering other than the fact we are all victims of life in a fallen world. Sin is like nuclear fallout. It is no respecter of persons - everyone, just and unjust, is affected.
A better question to ask the Lord is this: “What can you bring out of this?" God has the most amazing capacity to bring good out of the very worst situations life can throw at us.
My spiritual father taught me an instinctive response to difficulty. Tribulation is an opportunity to dig yourself deeper into God. I heard those words more than I wanted to, but the more I grew, the more I realized how true they were.
Don’t try to make sense of it while you’re going through it. You’ll wind up spinning in mental and emotional circles. Just ask God for grace to get through. Grace is more than a theological concept. It is the power of God. Grace is a divine energy which enables you to keep going when you have nothing left in the tank.
I knew a man who was stranded when his car ran out of gas in a remote location in the middle of night. I am not recommending you try this, but in desperation he prayed and poured what he had - a jug of water - into his tank. The car restarted and made it all the way to his destination. Grace is like that water. When you run out of your own fuel, try God’s instead.
In general, it’s a bad idea to live life by looking in the rear-view mirror. Sentimentality provides a rose-coloured view of the past and robs us of the power to live for God in the present. But there is one use for that mirror. It can remind us of just how faithful God has been to us, and how consistently he has brought us through trouble and back into safety.
I have a suggestion. When you’re in the worst of it, buy a jar and put a pebble in it whenever God answers a prayer of any sort. As time goes by, your jar will fill. And eventually, it will overflow.
If you believe God’s job is to protect you from any discomfort in life, think again. He didn’t do that for his own Son, and aren’t you glad for that? I am not saying your suffering is redemptive in the way his was. All I am saying is that God will bring good out of it. As Paul said, our suffering is for someone else’s comfort. If you’ve never suffered, you haven’t got much capacity to help anyone else who is.
And when God brings you out of your trouble, as he will, here’s one last piece of advice: keep that jar handy to remind you the next time things start looking bad.
CONSIDER PARTNERING WITH DAVID & ELAINE CAMPBELL IN HELPING TO SUSTAIN THEIR ACTIVE MINISTRY.
AWAKENING MINISTRIES // FOUNDATION of FAITH Project
Foundation of Faith Project is strengthening generations in faith and bringing beautiful changes to the communities around them. Through teaching, mentoring and coaching, many are finding out who they are and who they are destined to be. They are bringing more to their world. David Campbell is the key leader in this initiative and you can support him financially directly through Awakening Ministries.
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