Trials – The Faith Travels

Hi Faith Travelers!

I want to start this month’s blog post off with a question to you…

Have you ever hoped, prayed, and believed for something so deeply just to end up disappointed with the outcome? The job you believed God for didn’t work out, the situation you hoped would get better got worst and the ill person you prayed total healing for ended up passing away. That level of disappointment, unmet expectation and failed hope can be enough to rattle someone’s faith to it’s core. I know personally because I’ve experienced it and I am here to tell you, don’t lose faith because GOD ALWAYS HAS A PLAN even when the variables surrounding you don’t make sense.

Here we are only four months into the year and I find myself a few days post op from a 2nd surgery that didn’t yield the outcome I was really hoping and praying for; unrelated to the first surgery 1 had just two months ago. In addition, I am working the corporate job that the Lord blessed me with, yet its starting to feel life draining and joy stealing. Meanwhile, I have been seeing people I know and love leave this world in high numbers and I just don’t understand. I found myself hurt, frustrated, weary and disappointed. I told myself, “this can’t be it…this can’t be apart of God’s plan.” While I recognize there is a very real enemy (satan) who comes to steal, kill and destroy (See John 10:10) at play in this fallen world, I couldn’t help but feel like this is not how it’s supposed to be.

Coming back to reality of things, I remembered this world, we as believers live in, is a battlefield not a playground, so even when we give our lives to Christ, that doesn’t mean things will get easier. Honestly speaking, it sometimes means it will get harder because when you are living out God’s purpose and plan for your life, persecution and suffering comes in attempt to delay or halt that plan because satan doesn’t want to see the Gospel shared, lives saved or the line to hell shortened.

Let’s take a look at Paul in the Bible. Once a fervent persecutor of Christians who had an encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus (See Acts 9:1-9), one that would lead to his radical conversion to Christianity. He went from persecutor to Apostle, sharing the Gospel wherever he went. Paul did great things for the kingdom of God but it wasn’t without its trials. Paul was whipped & flogged on multiple occasions by Jews, beaten with rods, stoned and left for dead, shipwrecked multiple times, bitten by a venomous snake, deprived of sleep, food, water & warmth, betrayed by false believers, chained, imprisoned multiple times and dealt with a mysterious affliction he called a thorn in the flesh. Paul went through all of that yet his perseverance and walk with God led to the establishment of the Christian theology foundation; emphasizing salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. He also expanded the gospel to the Gentiles and wrote 13 of the 27 new testament books. Though he dealt with constant persecution, attacks and trials, God’s plan for his life prevailed.

Now let’s look at Jesus, He suffered the ultimate persecution but His sacrifice wasn’t in vain, there was purpose behind even the last moments of the crucifixion. In Matthew 27:46, while Jesus was dying on the cross, “Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” The NLT version states “My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?” Shortly after, Jesus cried out again and gave up His Spirit, dying on the cross. To the onlookers, this looked like the end. It looked like the Father had abandoned/forsaken His Only Son but God already had a plan. A plan of resurrection and ascension that forever saved us so that we could continue God’s will here on earth as it is in Heaven (See Matthew 6:10).

When we choose to go after Jesus, we have to give up our own way, take up our own cross and follow Him (See Matthew 16:24). If you have been going through trials and disappointment, much like myself, you may feel like you are on that very cross that you’ve taken up, uttering the very words that Jesus cried out to the Father, “My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?” Here’s a fresh perspective for you, if the act of Jesus dying, being resurrected and ascending to be with the Father healed the brokenness of humanity, offering a direct path to God then that means the same way God had a plan for Jesus amid persecution, He certainly has a plan for us amid our circumstances. So don’t lose faith! God’s plan won’t always look like ours, but it will always lead us where we need to be (Romans 8:28).

Selah.

Until the next Faith Message…

To be a part of the movement, share your own faith story Here!

Through The Storms of Life

HI Faith Travelers!

By a show of virtually raised hands, how many of you are going through a storm right now? Picture me raising my own hand right along with you.

A storm can be defined as a violent disturbance of the atmosphere; an uproar or controversy; a sudden attack; a direct assault.

If you think of this in the terms of things you may be going through, that violent disturbance of the atmosphere can be sickness in your body. That uproar and controversy can be friction with your family, marriage or relationship. The sudden attack can be on your finances while that direct assault can be blatant unfair treatment towards you at your place of employment. The storm can come in the form of many things, but it’s never about the storm itself, it’s about how you navigate THROUGH the storm. A quote by Charles R. Swindoll states, “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” It’s more about how we respond versus what has actually happened to us.

“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.”
–Charles R. Swindoll

How do you respond to the storm? What’s your attitude, your heart posture; how are you standing in faith to get THROUGH to the other side? I put so much emphasis on the word “Through” because of the meaning and the sheer hope behind the word. Through means “moving in one side and out to the other side of. The other side meaning, healing after sickness, restoration and reconciliation after family or relationship rift, financial breakthrough after a financial drought and recompense after mistreatment.

What does that look like as it relates to the word of God? The bible states in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” This scripture lets us know even when the storms arise and look to be overwhelming, we must first and foremost, Trust God. Trust that whatever the situation is, it’s in no way shape or form bigger than the true and living God. Don’t lean on your own understanding of thinking this issue has the final say or that it won’t end in your favor, trust God who can direct your path through this storm, when you allow Him to by trusting Him over what it looks like. That means walking by faith and not by sight (See II Corinthians 5:7).

Trusting God also looks like Matthew 6:34 MSG where it reads, “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes”. God is with you always so no matter the trials, circumstance, or situation, you can count on Him to help you walk through it to the other side.

Now that you are trusting God with that situation, your heart posture has to match by choosing joy and being at peace in the midst of the storm. James 1:2-4 NCV in God’s word says, My brothers and sisters, when you have many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy, because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience. Let your patience show itself perfectly in what you do. Then you will be perfect and complete and will have everything you need. Once you decide to choose joy in the midst of the trials, God can then make it joy because of the act of your faith (See Matthew 17:20).

My husband shared this story with me about the time he was driving one of our church leaders out of town to a conference. As soon as he got on the highway ramp towards the destination it started pouring rain to the point he could hardly see the road. He could have pulled over to the side of the road but he knew that was dangerous and could have led to another car hitting them due to lack of visibility. He preservered through the drive and before he knew it he was on the other side of the storm where the sky was clear and sunny with a rainbow reminder of God’s promise (See Genesis 9:13-16). As he looked out the rear view mirror he could see the storm behind him where it was dark, cloudy and pouring rain but coming THROUGH the storm on the other side didn’t look like what he had been through.

On the other side of the storm

That’s what it’s like walking with God through storms and trials. When you trust Him, count it all joy and walk in faith with Him through it, He will bring you out on the other side of victory, where it won’t look like what you’ve been through.

Until the next Faith Story…

To be a part of the movement, share your own faith story Here!