It’s been a tough week, nothing seems to have been going as I had planned.  But due to my circumstances it has caused me to act and to plan for other possible life decisions.  Something I don’t often take into consideration, and I know a lot of others don’t either, is that when we pray, are we just visioning where we want to be and not what it’s going to take to get us there?  What if the things we go through are actually our prayers being answered.  Maybe God’s way of preparing us.  The hardships are for a reason, even if there’s a tragedy, God is able and will turn it into good if you let him…there’s a purpose.

I hear a lot of complaining when people go through changes that seems totally against what they want, myself included, but what if it’s a trial of training if you will?  You know if God is to trust us with the bigger responsibilities/blessings in life, He should be able to trust us in the small responsibilities/blessings that He has given us.  These trials and sorrows is really a life long time of training.  I know it’s easy to think that maybe we can just sit where we are and let God answer our prayers without having to do much about our own situation.  Just like you have to train for everything else in life, sports, test, military and many other examples, a follower in Christ, no matter how small or great you think your current position is, there is hardship to be endured, just as much as there are good times.

I know where I want to be in life or at least an idea, and that it won’t be easy, but just like starting something new, the shifting and adjusting isn’t always as I thought it would be.  I know I feel really good after a hard days work.  The sense of accomplishment sets in and I appreciate and acknowledge how important my position is.  I know to get where I want to be, much training has to be endured, often that’s training that cannot be learned in a classroom setting.  It’s the experiences that we endure.  A teacher cant teach you all the experiences in life that you will endure because their experiences will not all be the same as yours.  The greatest lessons learned are our own experiences and how we respond in those situations.  God is always there with us if we truly believe.  It’s great to seek out advice, but allow me to encourage you, God is the path maker in your life.  I would recommend going to Him first.  He will use others to help you along, but if you solely follow the instruction of another’s advice, you may get off track.  God will lead you if you let Him.

I get it, times He seems so far away, but I sense it’s like a child riding a bike for the first time.  You may fall, but what will you do next?  Do you give up?  Maybe you fall many times, will you get back up?  Would you ever build a house on a faulty foundation?  Or a foundation where the house will be able to withstand the storms that beat against it, a foundation that’s firm?  There’s time I’ve allowed situations in life to push me over as if I was a house with an unstable foundation.  No one ever wants to admit that they’re weak.  But to acknowledge the reality that we face, and be able to recognize what causes us to fall over is the first step to standing firm in your faith.

Answer these questions:

Do you believe God will work in your life?

Do you want Him to work in your life?

Are you bounded by sin?

Is there someone you need to forgive or perhaps ask for forgiveness?

Do you want to see God do remarkable things in your life?

Are you willing to trust God through the situations you go through?

Will you always trust God no matter what?

Will you put into practice what Jesus commands?

If so start having a heart to heart talk with God.  He is available to you everywhere you go.  He hears your prayers and knows what you need.  God’s love never fails, never gives up and never runs out.

“For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.” Romans 6:14

“Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.  The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” James 5:26

“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.  If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.  But when you ask you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.  Such a person is double minded and unstable in all they do.” James 1:2-8

“God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation.  Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.” James 1:12

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.  But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Matthew 7:24-27