Faith Triumphs In Trouble

I almost had a free day. Braxton was going to go play all day at a friend’s house. Hmmm, what would I do with a whole day to myself while Zach was at work and Braxton playing? I could work out. Nah, did that yesterday. I could go swim. Nah, too hot for that (literally). I could sit down with a cup of my new favorite coffee that I stole from Zach and read some from my Bible that I finally brought back from the states. Oh well, it didn’t matter now. He wasn’t going.

But I decided to not let that stop me. For there is always a battle going on. Always something trying to catch my attention and keep me occupied with something other than spending time with my beloved Savior. The One that died for me. The One that rose again and sits at the right hand of the Father, waiting earnestly for me to set everything aside and spend some time with him.

So that’s what I’ll do.

And that’s what I did.

And whoa. Did I find some encouragement. The miscarriage seems to have finally ended and I am ready to move on.  This morning was encouraging nonetheless and I am hopeful that it will encourage any of you that might be reading this message who call themselves “Followers of Christ” and are going through a trial. Big or small. Read on, dear brothers and sisters!

My struggle (and maybe yours) with reading my Bible is I never really know where to start. Do I just flip it open and see where it lands? Do I pray for maybe a scripture to come to mind and then start there? Or do I begin like any other book and start on page 1? Today I decided to open it wherever it landed. I flipped to Romans 5 and began reading. The label of this chapter was “Faith Triumphs in Trouble.” I looked over and Zach happened to have his Bible Commentary (Bible study tool) sitting right beside where I was sitting. I grabbed that and opened to Romans chapter 5 also. Took a sip of the yummy coffee, and began reading.

This passage talks about us being justified through faith. Sometimes big, religious words like “justified” can be easy to read and then skip over and keep going. But I think it’s important to stop when we get to those words and figure out just exactly what does that mean? What does it mean to be justified? Webster’s explains it like this: Declared or made righteous (morally right) in the sight of God. Now. That is huge. To be made morally right in the sight of God is a BIG thing! For the God of the universe to look down to me and anyone else that has put their trust in God for their eternal life and He tells me I’m “justified”. This is huge and should strike us as overwhelming. Which, for me, it does.

While that truth weighed heavy this morning, there was more! Romans chapter 5 verse 3-4 says “And not only that, but we also glory (take price or pleasure in) in tribulations, knowing that tribulation (our troubles) produces perseverance (doing something despite difficulty); and perseverance produces character; and character produces hope.” Go ahead, read that again- very slowly paying attention to the definitions I’ve put in quotations.

Now. I’ve seen this verse before. I’ve read it. And I’ve been encouraged by it in the past because ultimately it means that our troubles ultimately will produce a good character- for me that is the character of God. What I am always striving to have and to be like- the character of my King. I flipped over to look at the commentary on what exactly it had to say about these two verses. It says this... That we don’t so much “glory” in the present discomfort as in their eventual result. What an ah-ha moment for me. It’s okay not to “enjoy” the hard times, which is what I think I’ve thought I was always supposed to do. “I need to be happy my husband lost his job for teaching about character because it will produce a Christ-like character in me.” “I need to be happy that I’ve lost this baby because I know there is a greater purpose and it will make a great character in me.” Sure, there was happiness in knowing it was for a great purpose, but man was it hard for him to lose that job and man was it hard to lose this baby. But I almost had a sense of guilt that I was not “happy” about the situation. What a release and weight off my shoulders to see in scripture that it’s okay to not glory (take pleasure in) in the present discomfort, as long as we are “glory-ing” in the eventual results! Beside this part in the commentary, it had a reference to Hebrews chapter 12 verse 11. So, I flipped over to it. It reads, “Now, no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” It’s so true. No chastening seems like a pleasurable thing at the moment! But if we can push through, push through the season, it will produce righteousness (good, worthy, upright, justifiable). An English Christian Theologian named Leslie Weatherland said once, “Like all men I love and prefer the sunny uplands of experience, where health, happiness, and success abound, but I have learned far more about God and life and myself in the darkness of fear and failure than I have ever learned in the sunshine. There are such things as the treasures of darkness. The darkness, thank God, passes. But what one learns in the darkness one possess forever.”

Wow. That is great stuff. And I’m so thankful I decided to sit down this morning and read, be encouraged, and learn. So those of you who call yourselves Followers of Christ, do not be discouraged when trials and hard times come. It’s okay to not take pleasure in the pain during the painful times, but it is important to focus on the outcome and realize that this for your (and my) good. To make us more like Christ. Which is our ultimate goal. And while we know we will not achieve this goal until we are in Heaven with Him, once we become followers of Jesus, there becomes this desire in us to be just like Him. Kind of like our sons, because they love their daddys so much, want to be just like them when they grow up. (Except for Braxton who I just asked and he said no, he wants to be like a big dinosaurJ)

If you know me well enough, you know I love music. So many times God will remind me of a song I know to encourage me. It’s crazy how it happens. All of a sudden I’m just singing this song and I realize, “hey! this is exactly the Truth I needed to hear right now!” So as I was gathering all my thoughts together to type this up, I was reminded (and started listening to) of a song called Sovereign Over Us. Sovereign simply means “in control”. So for us to say God is sovereign- God is in control.

I encourage you to go to YouTube, type in Sovereign Over Us, and listen to the song. It’s so encouraging. But first, read the words…

There is strength within the sorrow
There is beauty in our tears
And You meet us in our mourning
With a love that casts out fear
You are working in our waiting
You're sanctifying us
When beyond our understanding
You're teaching us to trust

Your plans are still to prosper
You have not forgotten us
You're with us in the fire and the flood
You're faithful forever
Perfect in love
You are sovereign over us

You are wisdom unimagined
Who could understand Your ways
Reigning high above the Heavens
Reaching down in endless grace
You're the lifter of the lowly
Compassionate and kind
You surround and You uphold me
And Your promises are my delight

Even what the enemy means for evil
You turn it for our good
You turn it for our good and for Your glory
Even in the valley, You are faithful
You're working for our good
You're working for our good and for Your glory

I’ve attached a picture for your enjoyment. Because through all of this study this morning, I had a precious 4yr old playing dinosaurs and firetrucks in the background because he didn’t want to go play with his friend all day long. J