It’s happened to me a million times so I KNOW it has happened to you. You’re sitting in traffic on the busiest day of your week. You hit EVERY-SINGLE-REDLIGHT on your way to work. Or how about this…you sit down to pay the bills for the month with a knot in your stomach. You expect things to be tight but it’s worse than you thought. You’ve gotten to the end of the funds in your checking account and you still have four more bills due next week that you don’t have the money to pay. Or……you’ve been praying for a family member with a chronic illness for months expecting God to fully heal and restore them and He does…. but not in the way you preferred….BAM……He decides to take them home. These things are just a FEW of the situations we all tend to deal with from time to time. When we are in the middle of these situations it seems overwhelming, almost to the point of giving up. I’ll be the first to admit—Been there, done that!
I’ve come today to encourage you but maybe not in the way you’d expect. Interested? Well, keep on reading. I am a firm believer that there are lessons to be learned in each and every situation we deal with but sometimes we have to change our perspective. What? A perspective change? Seriously, hear me out. Rather than sitting in a space of fear and pity for yourself, lay all of that stuff (your frustrations and the like) on the table and step back. Take a moment to step back and change your perspective. I firmly believe some things happen because God allows it. Remember Job? Yeah, he had it all and in an instant it came crashing down around him. Things didn’t go south because he was a bad person. Just the opposite. He was a man of integrity, a Godly man that lived his life as God had ordained. Things went south because God was allowing Job to be tested. Job’s life was certainly a testimony BEFORE his troubles and trials. But imagine the testimony he had AFTER he went through it all and came out on top again. Not only was he restored but with bonus.
Now here’s the part you probably don’t want to hear so you may want to skip over this part [insert eye roll here]. Sometimes the things that happen to us are a direct result of our own doing. Yeah, I said it. We did it to ourselves. We’ve set ourselves up to fail because we don’t prepare well. We don’t, “count the cost…” You choose to get a new car, purchase the latest and greatest cell phone with a 20GB data package, you went on a shopping spree you KNEW you didn’t have the money for….but since shopping makes you feel better, well, a few hundred dollars spent won’t hurt anything, will it? Oh yeah, you also upgraded your satellite TV to have 200 movie channels. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH 20GB OF DATA AND 200 MOVIE CHANNELS?!?!?!?!?!? It may sound ridiculous but this is the way many live their lives.
Now hear me clearly, I FULLY realize there is another side to this same coin. Sometimes things just happen and they aren’t a direct result of any specific doing on your part. Sometimes things simply happen. That’s the way life is. There comes a point where we have to decide how we are truly going to live. James 1:2-8 reminds us, “2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” Whether it’s a God lesson, you’ve gotten yourself in a mess, or it’s just life happening—there is STILL something to be learned. [insert the old children’s song, “He’s still working on me….to make me what I ought to be…”—you’ll have that stuck in your head all day long now, ha ha!]
This may sound weird and awkward but, don’t waste your hardships! If you have given your life to God and asked him to lead and guide you…..guess what?!? He’s going to do what you ask of Him. We need to include God in EVERY part of our lives…the good, bad, AND ugly…not just using Him as a spiritual gumball machine. Some only approach God when they need something. We pop in a quarter and expect to get what we want…and there’s no judgment here because I’ve done it before myself but…..Shame on us all!!! If you’re dealing with something today make this choice….as James 1:2 states, choose to, “COUNT IT ALL JOY!” He said He would never leave nor forsake us. Regardless of whether you feel alone…..you’re NOT!!! Maybe you’re stuck in traffic because God is protecting you from a wreck a mile down the road. Maybe you NEED to be late on some bills to teach you the importance of handling your money correctly BEFORE you end up in court having to claim bankruptcy. He’s molding us and making us every day. Let Him. And again, “count it all joy…” Let your perspective change today. You’ll be amazed what God will reveal to you!! Regardless of the situation, it’s never the end…..it’s only the beginning….He makes ALL things new.