Many Christians are not happy. They are overloaded with
their problems. They see no joy in life and they are overwhelmed with stress
and trials. They rush off to work, rush through work and rush home after work,
falling into an exhausted sleep each night, getting up way too early to care
for the needs of their family and then starting the same behavior all over
again. Like a hamster on a wheel, they frantically run; yet never get anywhere,
accomplishing very little, and ending up in the hospital with physical and
psychosomatic illnesses.
That is the problem with problems. They are inescapable.
Our obsession with them keeps our eyes off Jesus. We often attempt to ignore
our problems, denying their existence, minimizing their importance in our life
or blaming them on everyone else. We falsely believe that if we had more money,
a better mate or job, or fewer problems, then we would be happier. We try to
get rid of them, but then new ones pop up! That is when we beg God to free us from
them, or to solve them for us.
Jesus uses our trials to convert us into a new creation.
His Spirit transforms us into His image day by day throughout our lifetime,
using our trials and temptations to perfect us. He replaces our carnal nature
with His nature, which is the fruit of
His Spirit. We receive eternal life from that first moment of Salvation; and we
walk more fully in this eternal life as we come to know God, and Jesus Christ
whom He sent (John 17:3). God’s Spirit within us enables us to experience
pure joy in Jesus.
The Bible tells us that we can traverse trials of every
kind with God’s joy. This is because when our faith is tested, we develop
perseverance, which works maturity and perfection in us, so that we lack
nothing (James 1:2-4). God uses these opportunities to
fine-tune our faith and to draw us closer to His heart. He encourages us to
enter into His rest and to depend on Him (Hebrews 4:10). He
proves His love, power and authority to us by working out every negative
circumstance for our good (Romans 8:28).
Prayer:
Father God, when You put us to the test, we fail unless we
cling to Your hand and walk through them with our focus on Your face (Isaiah
26:3). Your power and authority over the prince of the power of the air
delivers us from anything Satan uses to discourage us or bring us down. When we
attempt to escape one problem, we usually end up in the midst of several more.
Teach us to trust in You and to walk in Your Spirit every moment of the day.
Thought for the Day:
Facing our problems with prayer allows us to see
God in the midst of them.
