K Taylor noted the following: “In 2 Corinthians 11:24-28, Paul writes about all the trouble he endured on his journeys to spread the gospel: “From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness— besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches.” The last statement shows Paul’s “why” – the reason he endured all of the trouble. If most of us had to endure what Paul did, we would have said, “Forget this; this is too hard. I am going home!” But because of Paul’s love for the church and his desire to please God, he stayed the course. So your first step in triumphing over trials and tribulation is to determine your “why?” Why is it important to you to stand strong to the end? And not only that but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Many people do not endure when trouble comes. They give up and quit at the first sign of trouble. That is a heart issue, which is why having a strong “why” is so important from the beginning.” This article shows that we need to know why we want to endure, why we want to quit, and why we want to please God. Pray, “Father, help me to always remember “why” I want to quit.” Consider meditating for 5 minutes each day on that prayer. If you are like I was. You go through a constant cycle of... Bad things happen and then you fall. Instead of that, realize that your trial is producing perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Pray: “Father, I will push through and flee from lust. Fill me with character and hope.” Study Paul and strive to be like Paul. We only have x number of opportunities to obey or to learn from tribulation. A thought for meditation. Know why you want to quit! Know that living right is the key to your purpose and joy. Now, use your new knowledge to know why you should go to an all-out war with addiction.
When trials come, stay disciplined... keep your hope! Never say, life will stink until _____ (Fill in the disaster that is facing you) ends. Insist (Like Paul did) on having an urgent dynamic relationship with God "in" the trial. Don't say, I will be happy when it is the weekend, or when I have more money, or when I am retired. Decide to pursue your fullness of joy now. If you don't currently have it pray: "Father, show me how to start to be filled with joy?" Ask yourself this question. How can I make better choices this week? Secondly, pray and ask for help in your trial. You will either get your help, or you will learn something. Paul was okay with either answer. Then, Paul would pray: Your will be done. That is a spectacular habit to get into. Plainbibleteaching noted the following: “It is not always easy to praise God in the midst of trials. But we must remember that God made it so that man would have both good and bad days in life. The wise man wrote, “In the day of prosperity be happy, but in the day of adversity consider—God has made the one as well as the other so that man will not discover anything that will be after him” (Ecclesiastes 7:14). Solomon’s point was that we must learn that life is uncertain. Therefore, we must put our hope and trust in the one who is constant – God. Do not let temporary hardships cloud your perspective. Even in difficult times, God is worthy of praise as we consider His providence and His promises to the faithful. Remember the example of Job. After losing his wealth and his children, he did not blame God or curse Him. Instead, he praised God: “Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. He said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord’” (Job 1:20-21). If we fail to praise God, we will lose sight of the one who is the source of every good blessing (James 1:17). This will only make our trials harder to handle. Patience Because of the difficulties that exist in this life, patience is necessary in order to receive the things which God has promised His people. The Hebrew writer told the brethren to be “imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Hebrews 6:12). Without such patience, one will eventually be overcome by the trials of life. James explained that dealing with trials in life helps us to develop patience (endurance), which leads to perfection: “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4). Remember that every trial in life is only temporary (2 Corinthians 4:17). Do not allow the “worries…of this life” to choke out the Word (Luke 8:14). Perseverance Perseverance is about continuing to do good despite the conditions around us. Jesus said that the one with “an honest and good heart” will “bear fruit with perseverance” (Luke 8:15). If we “seek…eternal life,” we must persevere “in doing good” (Romans 2:7). Conclusion When trials come in life – and they will – do not let them distract you from what you ought to be focused on. Do not let them turn you from God. Instead, pray to God and praise Him, remember His providence and His promises, and always display patience and perseverance in your life. Life is not always easy, but you can do all things through Christ (Philippians 4:13).” Pray: “Father, help me to be patient.” Pray: “Father, fill me with Your strength in this trial and help me to focus on good works. Paul allowed trials to mold him into the great “Paul.” By following the steps that he followed, we might just become a little more like him.
One trait that all people with addictions have is that we sometimes have the habit of giving up. Work is harsh, relationships stink, money is elsewhere and a list of a million other problems get us down. So we tell ourselves that we have the right to go back to our addiction. We can’t fight back anymore. One of the reasons I recommend daily Bible reading is because of people from the Bible like Paul. His reaction to problems was the opposite of ours – he never gave up. He always fought to the end. When he was whipped and put in chains he praised God and sang so heartily that God just couldn’t resist breaking him out of jail. He was stoned (at that time in history sometimes groups of people would throw large stones continuously at someone to kill them. 2 Corinthians 11:27 talks about Paul’s tribulations: In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Instead of giving up, Paul always had the habit of fighting through problems. Develop the habit of never giving up and of fighting through problems. Consider praying: “Father, show me why I need to be tough like Paul was.” Or: “Father, help me to be tough like Paul was.” Every hour. What would happen to a person who is going through a trial, who decides to praise the Lord 500 times today, and put on some great Christian videos so that they could sing to the Lord as Paul did? They would be shocked by the fact that they are now just a little bit like Paul was. And, they will be shocked by how their life will be in the future if they keep on fighting.
Yesterday was a bad day, so I did not write my normal article. Psalm 26:2 ESV Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind.” I did not do well on my test. In fact, I was really unprepared for the test. James 1:2-4 ESV Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” This James passage is one of the scriptures that I meditate on regularly. I like to skim over this one because I don’t like it. I don’t want trials, I want blessings. I should dig into this verse but I, like most of us, want things my way not God’s way. The net result of my ignoring this verse is that I am not perfect, or complete, and I do lack some things. Most of us blow off the consistent study of the scriptures we need most to have a great life. When we ignore key scriptures, the test comes and… If you keep falling it would be wise to increase your fear of God. Psalm 33:8 Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! I have never had one person say: “I keep falling because I refuse to run to study the verses about lust every time I am severely tempted.” No one says: “I just refuse to follow Jesus' example of running to key verses when tempted.” Why? Because these verses produce fear. Wait, we are supposed to increase our fear. #2 These verses force me to do what I don’t want to do… quit. #3 These verses are giving control over to the Holy Spirit more and more as I study them more and more. #4 Fear of fire, car accidents, people attacking you with guns, and the fear of sin is all good. Pray for more good fear and pray that God will help you with bad fears. Today I am going to study James One and start a long-term study on how my life will be if I learn to count it all joy when trials and tests come. What will you begin to study? It’s even okay to write out all the blessings these verses say you will have (if you quit lust) as the first step. The bottom line is… the tests and trials will come again. Hopefully, I will be more prepared for it next time.
Say often regarding quitting: I will never give up. None of us has ever fallen when we “Refused to give up.” Second, say what the most important 3 things in your life are. Often our trials are not about these things. So when trials hit, give thanks often for the important things that you do have. Plus, the Bible does tell us to make giving thanks a habit. 1 Peter 5:10 ESV And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” There is power in often reading a verse like this one when trials hit. 1 Peter 4:12-13 ESV Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you “Share Christ's sufferings,” that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.” Make it a habit to rejoice as you “Share Christ's sufferings.” Pray, “Father, I rejoice because my car is broken, my website is broken, fill in the blank with what is causing the trial. You may have to rejoice about 10 times before the realization of what it means is. If we are about to get a big raise at work, we look forward to the test because we are thinking about what comes in the future. When we go through a Christian trial and rejoice in it, we may very well see huge progress in the war against lust.
