This is our command from the Lord. Hmmm.....do I consider it pure joy in the face of trials? Not always. Not often. Our sermon yesterday began with an unfinished statement. "I'll be happy when..." Fill it in for you. "I'll be happy when...I'm over this cold, I get that new job/raise, I get to be with the one I love, I get to spend some quality time with my hubby when our schedules mesh better, I lose some weight, I get the new car, or I'm done with this trial--of sickness, awkward exposure, pain, waiting, whatever it might be."
I know how to thank God when he has helped me through a trial and it is over, but I am praying for the strength to thank him in the midst of it. Romans 5 reminds us that perseverance produces hope. God only allows what we can handle, and he gifts us with these trials to draw us close to him, to give us an opportunity to glorify him and to stand out in the way that we handle trials. It's going to look weird to the world when we are happy despite the flat tire, the dying grandma, the lost baby, or the lack of success that this world views as success.
I am praying to grow through trials, instead of merely going through them. "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."
Love you girls...praying for us to see trials as opportunities to love God and others this week. Christ has already conquered each one for us!
Thank you for your angle on how we witness by choosing joy in trials! It's a great reminder to me to remember they are watching us as Christians to see how are lives are different. I need to better apply this every day where I work...I pray about it often because it's such a struggle to stand firm sometimes!!
ReplyDeleteThank you again :)
Caitlin, this is something I was reading about from The Peacemaker book we've been reading, too. I just saw that it listed on Ann Voskamp's book list as one of their family favorites. They listed Peacemaking for Families (which is probably similar, but adapted for a family setting). She listed a book for Young Peacemakers, too, which is written by the wife, it looks like.
ReplyDeleteSo cool! I'll have to check those out!!
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