As children of God, we enjoy all kinds of undeserved blessings. But sometimes we go through more difficult times. And even these hardships can be positive for us if we react in the right way.
Sometimes we suffer unpleasant consequences from our mistakes. We must then take the time to repent, change our direction, and let the consequences transform us. But other times, we experience trials we didn’t expect: the death of a loved one, a worrying illness, the loss of a job, an injustice that lands us in court, a heartbreaking divorce, etc. Jesus never promised to give us an easy life, but He promised to always be with us.
We can try to escape the trial as much as possible, but sometimes we must arm ourselves with courage and endure it. However, enduring trials does not mean doing nothing. We have our part to play in ensuring that our situation builds us up.
Take Care of Yourself It’s easy to read this verse so quickly that we skip over essential advice. “But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them” (Mark 13:9 NKJV). In trials, we must “watch out for ourselves.” We may have to take time off from certain tasks; we will certainly have to rethink our daily routines to take care of ourselves. In trials, we will have to choose our battles, learn to say no, spend more time with God, and take the time to soothe our emotions. Truly take the time to take care of yourself; it is essential to your victory.
Stay faithful and persevere in faith God is all-powerful and loves us more than anyone around us does. So, it’s easy to become angry with God when we suffer. “Why does God allow this? Why doesn’t He intervene?” If we want to emerge stronger and victorious from our trial, we must resist the temptation to blame God, as Job’s wife did. “Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!” But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips” (Job 2:9-10 NKJV). Instead of blaming God or questioning Him, we must choose to thank Him for being there with us, for giving us eternal life. Remembering that His love for us does not change, and so on. We can then make the same declaration as Daniel’s friends before the fiery furnace. “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (Daniel 3:17-18 NIV).
Remain calm and confident In the same vein, our eyes must remain on our heavenly Father, knowing that He will never allow evil to destroy us. “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9 NIV). We are human, we can of course fall off our chairs when we hear bad news, but then, it is our responsibility as children of God to choose not to fear this bad news. We must change our thoughts and remain confident that in all circumstances, God is working in our favor.
Hold the Hand of the Holy Spirit “Positive thinking” is within everyone’s reach, but we, children of God, have much better. We have the Holy Spirit standing beside us, there to guide us in the right direction and remind us of God’s promises. He is our comforter, our teacher, our protector. To emerge victorious from a trial, to be joyful even through it, we must develop our relationship with the Holy Spirit. We must talk to Him about everything that is happening and let Him reassure us or guide us in the right direction. He is our secret weapon against discouragement and anxiety.
Accept help from those around us We have to be careful with whom we share our challenges. Some people are nothing but gossipers who like to spread bad news. Others have nothing but comments to say, like “Oh really? I know someone who died from that!” We don’t need these harbingers of doom. But we also shouldn’t keep our trials to ourselves. We can talk about them with people we trust, those who can build our faith, who can help us materially, or who can accompany us to our meetings. Being strong doesn’t mean going it alone. It’s about knowing how to surround yourself with the right people.