“In You, my God, my heart shall triumph, no matter my circumstances! By Your power, O blessed Spirit, my heart shall rejoice even though all things should fail me here below.” Charles Spurgeon
In prayer appointments, counseling, in one-on-one interactions, during a ministry time, but even more, in my own personal life, I am constantly dealing with one overriding issue. And it’s this. How am I, and how are you, going to respond when life gets hard?
The issue is never troubles or trials. All of that is guaranteed. “In this life you shall have tribulation,” Jesus said (John 16:33). “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal which comes upon you,” exhorted Peter (1 Peter 4:12). “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God,” warned Paul to the Galatia churches in Acts 14:22
We have little to no control over problems. But we do have control over how we respond to them. If we could but grasp this one truth, that we can trust God no matter how difficult a situation, our lives would change. If we can truly believe all things work together for the good (Romans 8:28), that we can consider it all joy when we encounter various trials (James 1:2-4), that God loves us no matter what we are feeling, how much better life would be.
Attitude is everything. “OK God, I don’t like what is happening but I am going to trust you. I can see no good in this but I’m going to believe. I am going to fight the good fight, stay the course, keep the faith, no matter what. I going to respond in complete confidence that You are working in this very tough time of my life, refining me to become more like Jesus.”
May we focus our gaze upon on the beauty and wonder of the Son of God.
Prayer Needs…
- Full recovery from surgeries – Elizabeth Swellen, Mary Deane, Bret Fleming, Sandy Davis
- That any seeds sown in visitors to our Easter services would be watered by God, springing into eternal life.
- Continued prayer for the Good News Club at El Morro and TOW
- For the Christian clubs at the High School and Thurston Middle School
- Connection through the Newcomer’s Lunch this Sunday
- Sally Eimer in Tanzania on a missions trip
- The ministry in Thailand
A great workshop for those who have been divorced or those who are dealing with the consequences of your parent’s divorce. Lots of encouragement and healing here.
Final Thought: If someone says something unkind or critical about you, live your life so no one believes it.
Pastor Jay