The Lord my God says consider every trial and tough situation in your life as pure joy(James 1:2-4). As I have written before, that’s always been the hardest part because of who I am and how I was programmed and conditioned as a kid. My mother, God rest her soul, was the biggest worrier in the world. I learned a ton of amazing things from her like how to sew on a button or mend a shirt, how to treat people with respect, how to cook amazing meals, how to have unbelievable grace, mercy and forgiveness, but one of the saddest things that I ever learned from her was to assume the worst about every situation that is upon me. I struggled with that so much growing up and in my adult life. I would think four months ahead of time about what was going to happen with the worst case scenario and I let it scare me to the point of making even worse decisions in the course of a battle. Once I learned how to not have fear and trust 100% in the Lord I was able to forget what I was programmed to do and it gave me amazing Rest And Peace. So how exactly does that peace come upon me?

The Peace of the Holy Spirt

The weirdest thing about being a Christian is you always felt like I should be blessed, and nothing bad should ever happened to me. That God should always prosper me with everything that happens in my life. The problem with that thinking is that we are sinners by nature, prideful and selfish in every aspect of our life and the only way to change and become better human beings and more Christlike is to have trials in our life. God knows this and that is why he allows these trials in our life but also promises to go through them with us. So I would like to focus on some of the positives that I have seen about the massive trials that I’ve gone through in the last six months.

One of the most amazing things that happened to me is that as I mentioned before the first thing when met with bad news I would immediately begin to start thinking and obsessing about how awful it was going to be and how I was going to have financial or spiritual ruin because of what I was just told. Now what I do instead is immediately upon receiving bad news as I get on my knees and I pray to the Lord and I say heaven help me. Lord show me what you want me to do, show me how you want me to react, and protect me in this situation. And I don’t make any decisions until I feel like the Lord has spoken to me. It has served me so well that maybe God will call me to write a blog series just about that.

Another thing that’s been interesting for me is that when I used to come home from a really long day at work or a frustrating day somewhere else, the first thing I used to look for was a drink to calm my nerves especially if it was a rough day. This is what we are shown or told to do by the world. I literally do not even crave that any longer, but instead the first thing I do after a long day when I’m exhausted is reach for my Bible so that I can read for about a half hour before I fall asleep. The Lord will do amazing things with you when you begin to think and act like this in your life. The Holy Spirt has quite literally changed the make up of myself, my desires and my routine. This has been a massive blessing in disguise of a trial and I would not change it for anything.

Another positive outcome from the trials that I’ve been through is that I used to absolutely detest people who had wronged me and hurt me in the past. I would never ever give them a second chance and in fact I used to curse them out loud and to myself. Now the first thing that I do is pray for them. If the attack isn’t warranted, I ask God to forgive them to to show them the truth. If it is, I ask God to change their heart for me as I am a sinner and so are they. I ask God to give them a heart of Grace and Mercy towards me. This has worked in every single situation except one since I have began this. When you can get rid of that burden and understand that God will judge them not you, the weight that is lifted off of your shoulders is unbelievable. God is good all the time and all the time, God is good!

Probably the most important thing that I learned during trials is that if you submit yourself 100% to the Lord our God, he will fight for you like you have never seen before(Isiah 54-17). But you have to be pure in spirit, body and mind, fully repentant, and and 100% submitted to God in all areas of your life including work and recreation. In recent situations I have been up against absolutely astronomical odds and I have come out looking fine in not only the eyes of the Lord but in public. My God is greater and with Him, anything is possible (Matthew 19:26).

In summary, As I continue to anticipate that I will have trials my entire life, the best thing that I can understand and know is that God will fight those battles for me, I am loved unconditionally by him, and every thing that happens to me is meant to prosper me not to harm me (Jeremiah 29:11). I will continue to wear the armor of God fully and expect that the Lord my God will fight for me and every battle (Ephesians 6:10-20). Thank you Lord God for the trials in my life and teaching me how to not be the man I was, but instead the man that you want me to be. Help me to lead my children to love and know you the way that you are teaching me right now so that they do not have to suffer the same trials that I have gone through.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.