You are going to face hardships in life. Unfortunately, the difficulties often come in converging waves with riptide force that seek to pull you into deep waters of faith – where you can’t easily touch ground. The good news is that God will lead you through these trials if you can seek Him and follow His ways. Here are three critically clear steps for you to consider. (These musings were prompted by an article by Rick Warren.)

1. Rejoice
James 1 says, “Consider it pure joy when you face trials.” Don’t misunderstand this. This is not saying to fake it or deny it. God never asks you to deny reality. Notice it says, “Consider it pure joy. … this means to deliberately make up your mind. You can control how you respond to a problem. It’s your choice to rejoice, and you can rejoice because God has a reason for the problem. Problems in life are inevitable; misery is optional.

2. Request
The second thing to do is request that God help you in your problem. Pray and ask for help. Ask for wisdom. James 1:7 (Phillips translation) says, “If, in the process, any of you doesn’t know how to meet any particular problem, you only have to ask God who gives generously to all men without making them feel guilty and you may be sure that the necessary wisdom will be given to you.” Ask God for wisdom so you can learn everything you need to learn through this problem. Ask to be a quick learner.

3. Relax
Trust God to know what’s best and don’t doubt. Do your best to cooperate with Him. Don’t think of your problems as intruders. Welcome them as friends. God’s purpose is much bigger than those problems. Don’t doubt. James 1:8 says that when you ask for wisdom, “… you must ask in sincere faith, without secret doubts.” Don’t doubt that God is working in your life. Your problems aren’t a sign that God is mad at you – they’re a sign that He’s helping you to grow. Since problems in life are inevitable, tackle them head on and use them to your advantage.

You’re going to have problems. It’s inevitable. There’s no such thing as a problem-free life. But when a problem comes along you can be sure of two things:

1) The devil is trying to destroy you.
2) And God is trying to develop you.

Problems do not automatically make you a better person. Depending on your response, you can be better or bitter. You can rejoice, request, and relax or you can resent, rebel, and resist.

Pastor Tom Griffith

This entry was posted on Friday, August 3rd, 2007 Friday @ the River. Subscribe to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.