We all go through periods of time when it feels like our world is spinning out of control, or at least parts of it. I recently went through such a period which lasted for over 2 years... not that there weren't many things in my life to be thankful for during that time. But when it came to my job, I felt as though I was working in Mordor and the office (or the company) was cursed; everyone who worked there left feeling worse than when they started and nothing I ever did seemed to change it...it was not a positive environment.
After months of wishing my way through each day, I still felt helpless, hopeless, and was barely hanging by a thread; I knew I needed something to motivate me and I knew I had to get serious. I don't know why it took me so long to put on my armor for this spiritual warfare, but I was eventually drawn to a Christian bookstore and felt certain that was exactly where I needed to be. There were many great, intriguing titles, but three in particular spoke to me. The first was 21 Reasons Bad Things Happen to Good People by Dave Early. It was exactly what I needed to help me through the dark and gloomy days at work, and exactly what I needed to help motive those around me. I jotted down the following points from the book to help remind myself why we face adversity:
- God gave people the ability to choose, and some people choose evil;
- Often, good things come from bad situations that would not have occurred otherwise;
- To stretch us for greater personal and spiritual growth, like strengthening the roots of a tree to withstand the force of a hurricane’s wind; without the sand there is no pearl. He uses the bad to make us better people.
- To remind us that we are not “home” yet; the earth is not our final destination. It is a wilderness and only in heaven can we expect perfection from the world and the people around us.
- To help shape us into the likeness of Jesus; like a sculptor who chips away the excess stone to reveal his masterpiece, or like a potter who has to mold and bend his clay, so God has to chip away at our undesirable traits to help make us more like Jesus.
- To make us more humble and open our hearts to other lessons from the Lord;
- To bring us closer to God; it is the down-trodden and broken who turn to the Lord, we rarely turn to him when times are good. If he wants our attention, He may bring us down to bring us closer to him.
- To prepare us for much better and bigger things to come; it is only after the storm that we can see the rainbow.
- To provide an opportunity or prepare us for a miracle;
- To encourage and spread testimony of his work;
- To equip us to minister to others; if we don’t experience hard times how can we counsel and comfort others who experience the same? To allow us to reach someone for Christ that might not have been reached otherwise.
- To remove our self-reliance and independence and remind us that we need to rely on God alone.
- To give us instruction and discipline from our Father; it is training, not punishment.
- To refine and test our faith; like metal is made tougher and stronger with fire, God is the goldsmith and we are the metal.
- To remind us that we are not the only one(s) who suffered; Suffering provides us with a better perspective of the greater suffering that Jesus endured for us.
- To remind us that we need others, our friends (the church), to help us through the hard times; we can’t go it alone and shouldn’t try.
- God is constantly battling with Satan and we may be a player in this unseen battle; if we react to tough situations with faith and perseverance, God beats Satan again.
This was sent by a family member in Knoxville, TN:
ReplyDeleteAfter living what I felt was a 'decent' life, my time on earth came to the end.
The first thing I remember is sitting on a bench in the waiting room of what I thought to be a court house.
The doors opened and I was instructed to come in and have a seat by the defense table.
As I looked around I saw the 'prosecutor.'
He was a villainous looking gent who snarled as he stared at me. He definitely was the most evil person I have ever seen.
I sat down and looked to my left and there sat My Attorney, kind and gentle looking man whose appearance seemed so familiar to me, I felt I knew Him.
The corner door flew open and there appeared the Judge in full flowing robes.
He commanded an awesome presence as He moved across the room I couldn't take my eyes off Him.
As He took His seat behind the bench, He said, 'Let us begin.'
The prosecutor rose and said,
'My name is Satan and I am here to show you why this man belongs in hell.'
He proceeded to tell of lies that I told, things that I stole, and In the past when I ch eated others. Satan told of other horrible Perversions that were once in my life and the more he spoke, the further down in my seat I sank.
I was so embarrassed that I couldn't look at anyone, even my own Attorney, as the Devil told of sins that even I had completely forgotten about.
As upset as I was at Satan for telling all these things about me, I was equally upset at My Attorney who sat there silently not offering any form of defense at all.
I know I had been guilty of those things, but I had done some good in my life - couldn't that at least equal out part of the harm I'd done?
Satan finished with a fury and said, 'This man belongs in hell, he is guilty of all that I have charged and there is not a person who can prove otherwise.'
When it was His turn, My Attorney first asked if He might approach the bench. The Judge allowed this over the strong objection of Satan, and beckoned Him to come forward.
As He got up and started walking, I was able to see Him in His full splendor and majesty.
I realized why He seemed so familiar; this was Jesus representing me, my Lord and my Savior.
He s topped at the bench and softly said to the Judge, 'Hi, Dad,' and then He turned to address the court.
'Satan was correct in saying that this man had sinned, I won't deny any of these allegations. And, yes, the wages of sin is death, and this man deserves to be punished.'
Jesus took a deep breath and turned to His Father with outstretched arms and proclaimed, 'However, I died on the cross so that this person might have eternal life and he has accepted Me as hisSavior,
so he is Mine.'
My Lord continued with, 'His name is written in the Book of Life, and no one can snatch him from Me.
Satan still does not understand yet. This man is not to be given justice, but rather mercy.'
As Jesus sat down, He quietly paused, looked at His Father and said, 'There is nothing else that needs to be done.'
'I've done it all.'
The Judge lifted His mighty hand and slammed the gavel down. The following words bellowed from His lips..
'This man is free. The penalty for him has already been paid in full. 'Case dismissed.'
As my Lord led me away, I could hear Satan ranting and raving, 'I won't give up, I will win the next one.'
I asked Jesus as He gave me my instructions where to go next, 'Have you ever lost a case?'
Christ lovingly smiled and said,'Everyone that has come to Me and asked Me to represent them has received the same verdict as you, ~Paid In Full~'
'Stop telling God how big your storm is.
Instead, tell the storm how big your God is!'