TRIALS- WHISPER PEACE BE STILL
My brothers and sisters, be very happy when you are tested in different ways. You know that such testing of your faith produces endurance. Endure until your testing is over. Then you will be mature and complete, and you won’t need anything. If any of you needs wisdom to know what you should do, you should ask God, and he will give it to you. God is generous to everyone and doesn’t find fault with them. When you ask for something, don’t have any doubts. A person who has doubts is like a wave that is blown by the wind and tossed by the sea. A person who has doubts shouldn’t expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8A person who has doubts is thinking about two different things at the same time and can’t make up his mind about anything.
When I am weak, God says I am strong. He is the light of the world, the light to our salvation and the healer of wounds. As I sit here and face a storm in my own life I am reminded of giving thanks with a grateful heart even during the trials. My God has a divine destiny for my life and yours. He has a plan and a purpose as it states in Jeremiah 29:11, not to harm us but to help us prosper. No sickness or trial placed before our lives can keep us from our God planned and designed destiny. I know right now that I should remain in spirit, high in faith and pushing forward to the gifts and blessings that God has already promised us. In Hebrews 4:16 we are told to approach the throne of grace with fullest confidence, that we may receive mercy for our failures and grace to help in the hour of need. God reminds us in Psalms 103 that he is compassionate and gracious; slow to anger, abounding in love. He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgression from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. God speaks of his amazing and unconditional love for our lives over and over again in the Bible, why should we fear? He tells us in Luke 1:50, my mercy extends to those who fear me. We have nothing to worry about God has it all planned out. God knew that this morning when you woke up the rain would be falling, you would want to stay in bed, and the traffic would be a little more packed than usual. He knows the pains and suffering you may be facing. He has promised that no matter how bad the storm may get, he can bring a sense of peace and calmness during the rain. Psalm 107:29, “He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves.” Scott Krippayne wrote a song called, “Sometimes He Calms the Storm” which says, “All who sail the sea of faith find out before too long, how quickly blue skies can grow dark and gentle winds grow strong. Suddenly fear is like white water pounding on the soul. Still we sail on knowing that our Lord is in control. Sometimes he calms the storm with a whispered peace be still. He can settle any sea, but it doesn’t mean he will. Sometimes he holds us close and lets the winds and waves go wild. Sometimes he calms the storm and other times he calms his child.”
God doesn’t necessarily step in and make the storm around you go away, sometimes he gives you strength during the storm to rise up and reach the other side. We must not pray for all things that get us down to dissipate, but merely for God to guide us through the difficult times and place us on the other side. God knows the plans for our life, every trial we will face, every difficult unplanned situation and especially the heartaches that bring uncontrolled tears. He knows the tears have feelings and the feelings will be overcome. When we are faced with a trial that seems to just knock the bottom right out of our heart, it is human to become tearful, upset & react with concern. However, our Godly Father wants us to not be human in our reactions, but Godlike and react with feelings of thanksgiving and appreciation that he has everything all figured out. The storm may be huge; it may have waves & winds that knock you right down to your knees but what better place to be? God sends the struggles and disruption in our paths to test our strength and belief in Him. God wants us to lean not on our own understanding but his (Proverbs 3:5). When a trial surfaces and you feel uneasy, tearful or lost, remember that God already knew the situation was coming and he is in control of it if you believe with all your heart and give thanks. Give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks to the Holy one, give thanks because he’s given Jesus Christ, his son. Now, let the weak say I am strong, let the poor say I am rich, because of what the Lord has done for us. (Give Thanks, Don Moen)
We see in Matthew 14:22-33, Jesus sent his disciples into the middle of a horrendous storm; the waves were throwing the boat all around from side to side. Jesus appeared to them early in the morning walking on the water. They thought he was a ghost and began to scream with fear. Jesus told them to be calm, and to not be afraid. Peter tested Jesus and said, “Lord if it is you, order me to come to you on the water.” Jesus told him to come; Peter started towards Jesus, developed fear and started to sink. Jesus caught him and said, “You have so little faith! Why did you doubt?” When they got back to the boat, the winds stopped blowing. Jesus calmed the storm and showed Peter that trusting him meant disregarding the trials that were around him and he should just stay focused on Jesus face. When Peter tried to take things into his own hands, his fear surfaced, he took his eyes off Jesus and he started to sink.
Jesus wants us to always remain eye to eye with him throughout everything. When you are walking down the hall and you have your eyes fixated ahead of you at eye level, you may trip over something because you are not looking down. The same is true with trusting God throughout the trials, keep your eyes fixated on him and no matter if you fall or the winds sail around you, he will keep your paths straight. We all face all kinds of things. We cannot allow anything to be more powerful in our eyes than God. Deuteronomy 3:22 “Do not be afraid of them (trials), the Lord your God himself will fight for you.” Exodus 14:14, one of my most favorite verses, “The Lord shall fight for you and you shall hold your peace.” The problem only escalates when we are not patient enough to wait on the Lord to show up and show out. We feel the Lord is too slow and we can tackle the situation head on at that moment to help subside the pain. God tells us to stop!!! Romans 12:19 “Don’t take revenge, dear friends. Instead, let God’s anger take care of it. After all, Scripture says, “I alone have the right to take revenge. I will pay back, says the Lord.” So far we know that God has said:
You will face trials, God already knows that:
John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in me you might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
You will remain calm during the storm:
Romans 5:3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation works patience;
God will fight the battle for you:
Exodus 14:14, The Lord is fighting for you! So be still!”Everything will work out for Gods goodness in our life:
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Once we overcome the trials he prepares a seat for us:
Revelation 3:21 To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
The Bible is the written book of knowledge that explains everything we seem to question on a daily basis. I truly believe that the word “why” would never be used if we just read the entire the Bible. It clearly defines the answers to every single “why” we face. Even if you do not understand everything you are reading, God can use what you are reading to touch your heart.
Remember these key points when you are trying overcome a trial in your life:
- Take Inventory of your Spiritual Life (Ecclesiastes 10:8, Job 1:10, Psalms 66:18, James 1:5-6, 1 Peter 3:7, James 3:16, Malachi 3:8-10)
- Be Honest with yourself (2 Corinthians 12:10, 2 Corinthians 2:3, 1 Corinthians 12:9, Romans 8:37, Romans 8:31)
I have had many storms arise during my life and most of the time I have tackled these storms first by getting upset and worrying. I handled these initially the wrong way. I know the right way to handle a storm is by placing my full confidence and trust in Jesus, but in the midst of a situation when it first attacks you sometimes it’s very hard to see the God in the moment. We have to remember that everything that happens is for a reason, a God reason. Everything that occurs is because God needed it to occur to line up the destiny of our future. God moves things out of our way at times to make room for blessings. Sometimes the blessing may not be for us but for us to help another. Nothing happens without God first placing his hands over the situation so you have to know deep down that in the end everything will be okay. God is omniscient, he sees and knows everything.
Psalm 139:1-5,
O Lord, you have examined me, and you know me. You alone know when I sit down and when I get up.
You read my thoughts from far away. You watch me when I travel and when I rest. You are familiar with all my ways. Even before there is a single word on my tongue, you know all about it, Lord. You are all around me—in front of me and in back of me. You lay your hand on me.
You read my thoughts from far away. You watch me when I travel and when I rest. You are familiar with all my ways. Even before there is a single word on my tongue, you know all about it, Lord. You are all around me—in front of me and in back of me. You lay your hand on me.
We cannot hide from Gods plans for our life, what is meant to happen will happen regardless of what path we take to get there. If you are traveling to work, you can take a shortcut to avoid a long line of traffic, but eventually you will end up at the same destination you started off towards. God will move you from your plans to his plans in his timing. There is nothing you can do to make Gods plans change, they are set in stone. You can “try” to drive your own life through trials and obstacles, but God has the ultimate say. What you “feel” is best for your own life may be the direct opposite of what God feels. So to avoid going through more heartache than you are currently face, let go and let God lead initially. Place all the struggles you are facing in God’s hands, the hands that created everything. Let him design and orchestrate a sound finish to the current storm. Let God move the seas, calm the winds and settle the clouds. Don’t add extra wind and rain to an already brewing storm. God has your best interest at heart and you can never fail or be stirred in the wrong direction by trusting and following God.
Hebrews 4:13, “No creature can hide from God. Everything is uncovered and exposed for him to see. We must answer to him.”
Remember, if you are a child of God, you have the means by which to stand firm in the face of any trial. Know in your heart that you will face trials and setbacks, but as Joel Osteen says, “You may be setback but God is headed with a setup for a comeback.”
Stay focused, stay alert, stay in God’s word and when a storm hits, tackle it through God not on your own strength. Your strength is not enough to withstand a storm alone, but God’s can. Your confidence is not enough to calm the waters, but God’s is. Trust him completely and if a door shuts, don’t be upset or feel down in the dumps, be excited because God has a better blessing, a double heaping of a blessing in store for your life. In my own storm right now I know I cannot change the circumstances, I cannot make someone understand or care, but God can and will if I just believe and let go.
Go with God today; let him direct your paths. Even the best of God’s true soldiers will have to face heavy adversity in this lifetime. You can be strong in your faith all day long, but are you strong when struggles strike? You can be confident in your walk with God, but are you confident when the path takes a different course? You can be joyous in the happy times and praise God for them, but are you praising God for the trials? If you are facing trials, just know you are important in the eyes of God because he is testing to see how much you need him in your life. The testing of your faith is the setup for a future blessing. That blessing may be leading another to Christ, take the challenge, face the trials and praise God no matter what you may be going through. Today in my storm, I praise God that I am a child of the most high God, who loves me unconditionally and is testing me, setting me up for an amazing comeback of blessings
Love in Christ,
KD
PEN PAL MISSION!!!
Do you have anyone to hold you accountable in your Christian walk, someone who will not judge you, offer Godly sound biblical advice and boost your spiritual walk? Would you like to have someone? This person would be anonymous, identity unknown, but you could talk to them about issues that come up, struggles you are facing, and know that they will not judge you but find the God in the situation and build your self-esteem. Remember the key to being an accountability Christian pen pal is not to give the person what they want to hear even if they rebuke you; you have to stick to what is right in Gods eyes. If you want to do this, please send me your name. I will match you up with pen pal and you can communicate through an anonymous email account. Sometimes we just need someone to simply pray for us and that always helps! I have an accountability friend, my best friend K-lee, I can call her; email her, or text whatever I am going through after I go to God. If my mind seems cloudy and I am trying to see or find the God in the situation she always helps to point Him out, or let me know if I am making a non-Godly decision. It is absolutely the most amazing earthly form of God’s love.
Let’s do this!!!
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