“Rejoice”

“Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again; Rejoice!” Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.” Philippians 4:4-5

“And we know that in all things God works for the Good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

Meditation;

Rejoice IN the middle of the challenges, tribulations, trials diseases, etc. doesn’t means Rejoice FOR…!

People tend to think that trials, challenges, etc. are bad things. When Christians are faced with these, they tend to think that it is the end of the world. We carry scowls on our faces and we believe that God has forsaken us in our time of need.

In the word of God, Jesus assures as time and time again that we will face trials, tribulations, and temptations. For as long as we are on the earth, the enemy will try to get us to doubt God, to resent God, and to denounce our faith in Him. He will throw all kinds of challenges and painful moments our way, in hope that we will abandon ship and turn to the ways of the world for assistance.

Trials and tribulations can be very painful things for us to go through. Most times, we find ourselves begging God to remove us from the troubles we face. There are times where it may seem like we won’t survive what we are enduring. We cry. We gnash our teeth. We have sleepless nights. Even when we try to be strong, our strength fails and we find it hard to get out of bed. These moments happen. The Christian life is not all sunshine and roses. There are many moments where it will feel like we are being punished for choosing to follow God.

But what we don’t see in that moment is that we are carried through these tough times, with God’s strength, our characters are developing. Trials and tribulations are able to burn off the excess baggage we need to remove from our lives. The Bible speaks of all things working together for the good of those who love God. We can see that within the context of trials and tribulations God never causes us to suffer. But when we are faced in moments of great pain, He turns things around and makes sure that we come out unscathed and much stronger than we initially were.

There is nothing on this earth that we will face that God has not equipped us for. Sometimes it takes a little bit of searching to find that resolve to carry on. But eventually we find it. And the next time we are faced with similar trials or tribulations, we are more confident, and experienced because we know God will help us out of them again.

Prayer:

Our Father in heaven. Help us to remember that You make all things working together for our good… that you are still on the throne in complete Control. Our Hope and Trust are in You in all times! In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen!