So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand-Isiah 49:10

 I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”-John 16:33

 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. – James 1:2-4

 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.      2 Corinthians 1:5-6

 “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?-Hebrews 13:6

 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.-Galatians 5:22-23

 

Jump up and Praise God

In the midst of your pain Jump up and praise God.
Tell Satan God’s grace is enough.
Show you’re thankful even in the trials you face.
Then prepare for God’s Audacious love.

God did not create us for sadness or sorrow.
But as an expression of His unlimited love.
He wished for us to live in harmony
While basking in the blessings thereof.

In the Garden, we had a perfect union with God
We were healthy happy and free.
But on the day sin entered in
Satan gained power over you and me.

We must be aware that he is always stalking.
We must never doubt that he exists.
But when we put our trust in God completely
He will strengthen us and help us to resist.

So in the midst of your pain Jump up and praise God.
Tell Satan God’s grace is enough.
Show you’re thankful even in the trials you face.
Then prepare for God’s Audacious love.

God has told us in any given season
There will always be trials to endure.
We know in our hearts our faith will sustain us
Yet, at times we may feel a bit unsure.

Tribulation, by nature, will be unexpected
No matter how much we’ve tried to prepare.
And the only path that will lead to salvation
Is the path that the Lord has declared.

We know God will always be there for us;
If we only confess those things that we regret.
He is patiently waiting for our heartfelt prayer
Asking Him to forgive us and forget.

So in the midst of your pain Jump up and praise God
Tell the world God’s grace is enough.
Show you’re thankful even in the trials you face.
Then say Yes! To His audacious love.
©Linda Troxell 09/20/2018

 

 

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand     Isiah 49:10
The clearest memory from my childhood is fear. As a child, I was afraid of everything. And I’m still uneasy about many childish things including the dark. For most of my adult life, I thought the task of being an adult was surviving long enough to get to the point in time when “everything” would be good and I would have no more problems. Everything in my life would be manageable and I would be happy at all times.

I don’t think I ever thought this through because I don’t recall details. Like when I would get there and what would precipitate it. Would it happen at a certain age? Would a certain job make it happen? Or did I just have to “pay my dues” to bring it about?  As odd as it sounds to me now, I have no idea about how, what, when or where, I thought this would happen. Only that it would someday.

I think that I had to believe this because without it I would have been paralyzed by fear. I do know that before I was an active Christian, well along into adulthood, I was still a bundle of fear. When I say active Christian I guess I really just mean Christian. Because while I always believed I was a Christian, I really didn’t have many of the beliefs that constitute Christianity. In fact, as I really think about it, I didn’t have any of the beliefs required to call myself a Christian. Not even a belief in the divinity of Christ.

But since becoming a Christian, just about 5 years ago, I experience myself and the world very differently; actually, I experience just about everything very differently. I have, at this point in my journey, come to feel very safe knowing that my heavenly Father is watching over me and that no matter what comes my way He will keep me safe. It is such a beautiful way to live.

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”-John 16:33
However, even as a Christian, I didn’t always feel this safe. When I first began my journey, I might have even been more fearful. In the beginning, as much as I believed in God as a benevolent deity, I also knew that believing in God is not a magic shield from trials and tribulations. In fact, the Bible tells us right up front that we will have trials and tribulations.

No longer having the illusion that I create my own safety, yet, not quite having what could really be called faith in God, it was difficult to control the fear that tragedy would strike at any moment. And worse, at this point, I really didn’t know how to pray effectively. So, if disaster did come upon me, I thought, I would be left with no protection.

Coming to Christianity later in life, there was a training period and a learning curve in understanding God and all of His attributes. That may sound silly, after all, it’s not a job it’s a belief system; and that’s true. But if you were not born into it or didn’t come to it in formative years, you have a life’s worth of beliefs and a way of living which has trained you to see life in a certain way. Those beliefs, or more specifically the way of looking at life created by those beliefs, must be unlearned before the new ones can be internalized.

Before becoming a Christian I believed I was the one who created my problems with my thinking. If I created them, then I was responsible for solving them.  That meant that I was the one who had the task of keeping myself safe. I did not easily trust others with my wellbeing. It was a stretch for me to let go of control, even illusionary control, to someone who I didn’t believe existed just a few months before.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
James 1:2-4
Avoiding problems and eliminating risks were my major goals in life before coming to Christianity. So, you can understand why I struggled with the concept of being thankful for the trials God gives us. It simply made no sense to me to thank God in my suffering, let alone for my suffering. That seemed like madness.  And when I read James wanted me to count my problems as Joy. What?

Really, for perseverance? I was fine without perseverance, thank you.  I had lived many, many years without inviting problems into my life in order to learn perseverance, or any other lesson, for that matter. And then, one day, someone asked me, “If you never have difficulty or fear, why would you need faith?”

Okay, I got it, the difficult times create the need to exercise our faith. The more often we use our faith in God and experience His faithfulness, the more faith we will have. I couldn’t deny it made sense. But really, say thank you when my roof falls in?

Please understand that I really admired those who could praise God through the hardest times; even more those who could thank Him in the middle of their pain. But I really, really could not understand how anyone could praise God or be grateful for, as an example, their husband being unfaithful, or friends who betrayed them, or children who would have nothing to do with them. Those are things that would break my heart.

For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:5-6
It took me another year to understand that being broken-hearted was the point. It is when our hearts are broken that we need comfort. That is why we are so blessed to have a God to turn to who really loves us and understands how we feel. Not a God who sympathizes with our pain; a God who, because He has lived it, empathizes with our pain.

He has been betrayed, slandered, abandon and beaten. That means He knows how it hurts and why. There is nothing that we go through that God, in His human carnation, did not experience. And He did that because He loves us.  How can we not be thankful to Him in those moments when we are bereft?

It was when I understood this that I could begin to praise God in my pain. Just a little at first. But more and more as time went on I could see the results for myself. I began to see that when I praised God in the middle of my pain, the pain had less impact, it was less overwhelming. Of course, it doesn’t eliminate the pain; but I, somehow, felt comforted. Even more than comforted, I felt safe.

“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?-Hebrews 13:6
Praise is one thing. being thankful quite another. I have not yet been able to thank God for any of the problems or hurts that I’ve encountered. But I am able to thank Him for being with me in my pain. And I’m by no means ruling out that someday I will thank Him for the pain.  After all, I couldn’t praise God in my pain until my understanding of the reason for praise changed in a moment of spontaneous insight.

For that reason, I rule out very little these days. I have found Christianity to be an ever-evolving experience. That is I evolve not God. I suppose that’s why it’s called a Christian walk or journey. In the 4 or 5 short years that I have been unfolding as a Christian, I have experienced many changes. Most of them to my inner life.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.-Galatians 5:22-23
Jesus said that we will know them by their fruit. He was speaking of false prophets but I think that we also can know people by the fruit they produce. In that vein, I aspire to the fruit of the Spirit.  Who wouldn’t?

One of the things that drew me to Christianity was the patience and serenity I saw in those who were serious Christians. The real Christians I knew were all kind and generous people who seemed to have a joy for life that could not be shaken. I wanted that.

Then I learned that if I wanted to have the fruit of the Spirit I would have to exercise the characteristics I wanted just as I had to exercise faith. In other words, if I wanted the fruit of the Spirit I would have to invite situations into my life in which I would need the fruit of the Spirit to manage. Yet, again, I was told I had to invite into my life something which I had spent my life avoiding. And then I had to praise and thank God for giving it to me.

Wow, being a Christian is not for the faint of heart. It was obvious that I couldn’t very well work on more than one characteristic at a time. However, I was surprised to learn that while the traits that are the fruit of the Spirit seem to be very different, they are somehow connected. So, while I was working on increasing one trait, I’d find that one or more of the others also increased. A nice bonus.

Still, I would think that if anyone ever mastered the fruit, they would be ready to move on from this fundamental planet to heaven. Because they would be perfect. I don’t aspire to perfection, only improvement.

And there has been some improvement. The most cherished, if not the most important, is in the amount of peace I now have. The result of having faith in the existence of an omnipotent, omniscient, and immutable God who knows and cares for me personally, is feeling very little fear. And the result of having very little fear is a decrease in my anxiety and an increase in peace.

I am thankful God chose me before the foundations of the world to be a part of His family. I’m not sure why He took so long to call me but I do know He had reasons. Because God does everything in His time and for His reasons. And He is never early and He is never late.

 

Let’s Pray

Lord, I am so thankful that you chose me to be part of the body of Christ. Even though I know that you give everyone multiple chances to come to Jesus for salvation, I’m happy I was predestined. Thank you, Lord, for being with all of your children for comfort in our trials and tribulations. Lord, it is so comforting to be your child. Because you have experienced what I experience and much, much more, you know exactly what I am feeling when I cry out to you. Lord, please help me as I work to master the fruit of the spirit that will allow me to be there more effectively for my brothers and sisters when they need someone to walk alongside them in their difficult seasons. God, I praise you because you are faithful and generous. Lord, I thank you because You always keep your promises and your character never changes. Today you are the same as you were yesterday and the same as you will be tomorrow.  You are a generous God who allows your children to come into your courts that we might have a personal and up-close relationship with you.
Thank you, Lord, for your audacious love
In the holy name of Jesus Amen

 

Points for Pondering and for Prayer
                     Or
Perhaps for Putting Pen to Paper

1. Are you a Christian? If yes how long have you been a Christian?

2. Were you born into it or was it a choice you made, or perhaps both?

If you came to Christianity in your young adult life or older:

1. Did you convert from another religion? Why did you convert?

2. What drew you to Christianity? List at least 5 things

3. Did you have any difficulty learning, understanding, or accepting any of the ideas or practices?

4. Was anyone close to you opposed to your conversion?  Do you lose anyone due to your conversion?

If you were born to Christianity and are older than 18

5. Do you, or have you ever, questioned your Christian faith, tenants or beliefs?

6. If you have and you are still questioning, from whom are you seeking help in your journey?

7. List 5 things you really like about Christianity and 5 things you don’t

8. Do you have close friends and/or relatives inside or outside who give you flack about your faith or lack thereof?

9. If so, how much does this affect you?

If you are struggling with your faith, please don’t let shame or embarrassment prevent you from reaching out to someone who knows Christianity well to talk with about your struggles. You are not the only one. More Christians than not have had one or more times of doubt or question about their faith in some way. And in my opinion all Christians have, some are just afraid to admit it. Questioning and doubt are not sins, even Jesus had doubt when it got difficult there in the garden of Gethsemane. Open up share your struggle. God didn’t mean for us to go through this life alone.