Tag Archives: trials

Adapting and Growing Stronger Through Storms

We had an amazing opportunity to visit Assateague Island yesterday. Assateague Island is a thirty-seven mile island that runs the coast of Maryland and Virginia. It’s a beautiful beach with a national park. But the most amazing thing about this island is its inhabitants. Wild horses roam freely on the island. When we heard about it, we knew we had to visit it for our horse lovers in the family.

Visiting the Island

Macey, our youngest, has been begging for us to make the trip. We were waiting for nicer weather, and yesterday was finally our chance. We drove there yesterday, unsure what to expect. The island boasts of somewhere between seventy to eighty wild horses, but we weren’t sure if we’d be able to see any. But we did, and it was incredible! We counted a total of about thirteen horses that we saw. It’s crazy because they just wander around. You can find them on the beach, in the parking lot, in the campsite, and everywhere and anywhere. We even got to see one of the two foals on the island! It was an amazing experience, and our kids are already asking when we can go back.

Adapting to Life on Storm Island

One of the things that stood out to me when we were at the visitor center and then later on the island is that these animals have adjusted to life on the island over time. This island is an island that’s seen a lot of storms. Malachi said that he read that it’s called storm island. Because of that, the horses have had to adapt. Their bodies are slightly different than that of the average horse. I am definitely no horse expert, but I read about how these horses have stockier bodies and shorter legs. Macey and I read that they’re fatter than normal horses as well because the grass they eat is salty from being near the ocean, so it makes them drink double of what a normal horse drinks. We also read that they have smaller ears because of the blowing sand all the time.

What’s amazing to me is that the storms that have impacted this island over the years haven’t driven the horses off. Instead, they’ve changed and adapted to their surroundings, making them stronger and able to endure the storms that come their way.

Adapting and Becoming Stronger

It reminds me so much of our lives as Christians. We can either let the storms of life drive us away from what God has for us, or we can adapt and become stronger. We read in the Old Testament how Joseph’s trials made him stronger. The writer of Psalms says this about Joseph:

Then he sent someone to Egypt ahead of them—
    Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
They bruised his feet with fetters
    and placed his neck in an iron collar.
Until the time came to fulfill his dreams,
    the Lord tested Joseph’s character.
Psalm 105:17-19

The King James says it this way:

He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant:

Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron:

Until the time that his word came: the word of the Lord tried him.
Psalm 105:17-19

That phrase laid in iron from commentaries literally means that iron came into his soul. His trials made him stronger, turning him into the leader God needed him to be to save an entire people group from starvation in the coming famine. Had Joseph refused to become stronger through his trials, if he had given up, God couldn’t have used him in the way he did.

Growing Stronger and Adapting

What trials are you going through right now? How is God developing you and growing you and putting iron in your soul?

Rather than trying to dodge the trial, recognize it as as opportunity for growth. God is refining you, fortifying you. Embrace the process; it’s preparing you for what lies ahead.

The best way to grow through the trial is to spend time with God and allow him to work in your life. Adapt to how he’s working and choose to get stronger. Only then will we able to withstand the storms and ultimately be usable to God for what he has in store for us.

More Encouragement

For more encouragement, read my post God Uses Trials to Develop Iron in Our Souls or check out Matt’s book Breakthrough.

What’s Your Cross to Bear?

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I am convinced that each of us has a cross to bear in this life. It shouldn’t come as a surprise. Jesus told the people of his day that if they didn’t pick up their cross and follow him, they couldn’t be one of his disciples.

And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.
Luke 14:27

What’s Our Cross?

It’s sometimes hard to know what he was talking about. It’s kind of confusing. How do we know what cross it is we’re supposed to bear? This thought is so familiar to us as Christians, and yet I’ve never really fully grasped what Jesus meant.

But the longer I’ve been a Christian and the longer I live this life, I have come to believe that each of us is given a cross to bear. Our crosses all look different, but I believe that God gives each of us something difficult in this life that we have to choose to pick up and carry every single day.

Something Different for Each of Us

For my daughter Macey, it’s type 1 diabetes. There is no cure, and she will have that disease for the rest of her life. For my mom, it’s a lifelong debilitating disease. For my husband and I, it’s been financial burden and the weight of a small church. My friend’s cross is being single for so many years and wanting so desperately to be married. For another friend of mine, it’s being stuck in a bad marriage. Another friend of mine faces debilitating mental health. I could go on and on.

For each of us, it’s something different. But it’s our “thorn in the flesh,” just like Paul had. It’s something God gives us to keep us humble and keep us trusting in him.

Jesus taught us that we have to pick up our cross every day to be a follower of him. How does that work? Why would he say that? Does he not love us?

The Answer to Why?

On the contrary, God knows if he gives us something that’s “our cross to bear” in this life, it will drive us to our knees every single day. We will have to depend on him. There’s no chance of making it through this life without him.

There are so many questions we don’t have answers to this side of Heaven. Kay Warren says we should write those questions down and save them for Heaven one day. Your cross to bear—loss, a bad marriage, divorce, singleness, infertility, poverty, health problems, a wayward child, a blended family, being wronged…is one of those questions to ask God one day. I don’t have the answers.

Encouragement from the Psalms

I think of the verses that the Psalmist writes in Psalm 77.

When I was in deep trouble,
    I searched for the Lord.
All night long I prayed, with hands lifted toward heaven,
    but my soul was not comforted.

And I said, “This is my fate;
    the Most High has turned his hand against me.”
Psalm 77: 2, 11

From Hopelessness to Hopeful

You can feel the hopelessness, the sense that God doesn’t care, that he’s turned against us. But thankfully he doesn’t stop there.

But then I recall all you have done, O Lord;
I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago.
Psalm 77:12

What was the answer to his desperation? To remember the things God has done in the past. That’s the same answer for us today. How do you pick up your cross every single day? How do you deal with whatever it is God has given you as your cross in this life? You remember what he did for you in the past. You focus on the fact that God got you through yesterday, and he will get you through today.

So you choose each day to pick up whatever it is God has given you to deal with in this life, and you choose to carry it, while following Jesus. And just maybe, lead some others to Jesus along the way.

More Encouragement

For more encouragement on this topic, check out my post, Handling Trials, or check out my book, The Hidden Pain.

Our Faith Determines How God Works in our Lives

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The more I live life and the more I study God’s Word, I find that so much in life comes back to faith.

The Gospels are full of men and women who had extraordinary amounts of faith. Matthew tells us the story of two blind men who sat alongside a road who had more faith than most people. We don’t know any details about them than just those that—they were blind and they sat on the side of the road. We can assume that they were homeless, or at least outcasts. They had nothing. They could only rely on the pity of others to help them out.

Their Plan

We don’t know how old they were, how long they were blind, if they were related or just found themselves in similar straits. What we do know is that somehow they heard that Jesus was going to pass by. Whether or not they planned it or they both spontaneously decided to do it, they both began to shout. They shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us.”

The crowd around them responded the way most crowds would today. They tried to get them to be quiet. But the Bible says they only shouted louder. Well, their plan works. Jesus stops in front of them and asks, “What do you want me to do for you?”

Their Request

They respond, “Lord, we want to see.” Jesus takes compassion on them and instantly heals their eyes. After that, Matthew writes simply, “Then they followed him.” We don’t know for how long they followed him, but it was worth noting that they did.

Whenever I read this story, I am struck by their determination. It didn’t matter what anybody thought of them; they were willing to risk everything to get Jesus to heal them. Their desire to be healed mattered so much more than their pride.

I wonder how many of us let our pride or something else keep us back from getting serious with God. When was the last time we got serious with God and asked him, even begged him for something with no holds barred? When was the last time you begged God for something and wouldn’t let it go until He answered?

Our Faith

James tells just that if we’re going to come to God to ask for wisdom, we’d better come in faith without wavering.

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord
James 1:5-7

Faith is so important to God. The more I read and study the Gospels, the more I am convinced that Jesus dealt with people according to their faith.

It always comes back to faith. We know this. We know that without faith, “it is impossible to please God.” Yet, we often forget and need to be reminded. God deals with us according to our faith. Our faith can be a big determining factor for how God works or doesn’t work in our lives. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want my lack of faith to be the reason God doesn’t work on my behalf or my family’s behalf.

How to Increase our Faith

So how do we grow our faith? How do we know if our faith is strong enough to withstand a storm? The disciples had the same request. “Show us how to increase our faith.” Jesus answers them in an odd way. He turns to them and basically says, “If you had the tiniest amount of faith, even as small as a mustard seed, you could tell this tree to go jump in the lake, and it would obey.”

He’s exaggerating of course, but the idea is this: If you just have a little bit of faith, amazing things can happen. Why? Because it’s God we’re talking about. God can do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to Ephesians 3:20. We just have to do the first part…ask. And when we do ask, we have to ask in faith.

*Here’s a fun side note. Did you know? Mustard seed plants can grow to be twenty feet tall? Pretty amazing from such a tiny seed!

I don’t pretend to know how God works. Why he answers some prayers and leaves others seemingly unanswered. Why he meets some needs and seemingly not others. What I do know is that God will always work according to our faith, so let’s not give him any reason not to work in our lives. Let’s have the faith to believe that he’s going to come through for us in this season, just like he did in the last season. We may not see it yet, but we can believe it!

More Encouragement

For more encouragement, check out my post The Eight-Step Process of Faith. A great book on faith is The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson.

When Trials Knock Your Feet Out From Under You

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Have you ever been at a place in your life when you feel that you can’t tell which way is up anymore? The trials just keep coming. Life has knocked you down, and it feels like the hits just keep coming?

Job’s Humanity

I’ve been doing a study in the book of Job. Every time I read about Job, I am reminded how desperately human he was. The words that pour from his mouth show his humanness. There are so many verses in Job that are so accurate at putting grief and pain into words.

An example can be found in chapter three.

What I always feared has happened to me.
What I dreaded has come true.
I have no peace, no quietness.
I have no rest; only trouble comes.
Job 3:25,26

Don’t those words so accurately describe the feelings we have when we’re going through something that is just too much? As painful as Job’s story is, there is such beauty in his writing.

Bitterness of Soul

One of the verses that caught my attention this week comes from chapter twenty-seven.

I vow by the living God, who has taken away my rights,
by the Almighty who has embittered my soul—
Job 27:2 NLT

That phrase embittered my soul really encapsulates the feelings we go experience when we’re in the middle of a trial. The King James Version puts it this way:

As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment; and the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul;
Job 27:2 KJV

The word vex means “to make bitter,” and embittered means “anger or resentment at having been treated unfairly.” If we’re honest with ourselves, isn’t that exactly what we feel when God allows us to go through something that tests us to the very core of our faith? We would never say it out loud, but at night when it’s quiet and we’re all alone, those thoughts come to the surface. We feel that God has treated us unfairly, and we don’t know if we’re going to get through what we’re going through.

Reminder for Today

I don’t know what trials you’re facing today, but I know a little about what it’s like to feel like God has forgotten you, like he’s turned his back on you. God got me through that dark time in my life, and you can read about it in the book I wrote. But I’m here to remind you today that this is not the end of your story. God will get you through this.

I am here to remind you that God has not forgotten you. He sees you, and he knows what you’re going through. You are not alone. I know it doesn’t feel like it, but he’s right there with you and he’s not going anywhere. He hears you and will answer you when you cry out to him.

For More Encouragement

If you’re are in a trial right now and feel so alone, check out our devotional You Are Not Alone. It’s a thirty-day devotional with readings each day and verses to remind you that you aren’t alone even in the midst of life’s hard.

You can also read my post Handling Trials.

Getting Stuck in the Dark and Waiting for the Dawn to Break

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the light of the sunrise after the dark — sunrise at the beach

Watching the Sunrise

One of my most favorite things to see and experience is a gorgeous sunrise. There is something so breathtaking about watching the sky go from dark to a little bit of light. Eventually that light begins to grow. Colors begin to streak across the horizon. Brilliant pinks and oranges and yellows break through where once the darkness stood. Then, if you wait long enough, a huge burning ball of light rises and slowly begins its ascension into the sky.

It’s an amazing process to watch, one that takes my breath away every single time. It’s the most spectacular to watch on the beach. The crazy thing about it is that it seems to go slow when you’re watching it. It seems to take forever for the sun to get in the sky if you are a bystander watching. However, if you’re at home, not paying attention, or still sleeping, it’s over and done so fast. If you don’t plan to watch it, to get there early to see it, you will wake up and it’s gone. The sun will be in the sky and there will be no signs of the brilliance that took place just a few minutes or hours before.

watching the sun come up after the dark — Matt and I watching the sun come up

Watching God Work

Watching God work in our lives is kind of like watching that sunrise. Only you get the front row seat to watch what God’s taking you through. Nobody else can fully see your pain, can understand the hurt, or imagine what you’re going through. To everybody else watching, they will simply see you in a season of darkness for a time until you come out on the other side, and they see the sun shining brightly. They miss the process; they miss the beauty of it.

Waiting for the Dark to Dispel

In our own lives, if we’re not careful, we miss it as well. God takes us into a season of trial, and it gets dark. Really dark. It’s the kind of darkness where you can’t see your hand in front of your face. In a spiritual sense, your hand becomes God’s goodness. In a season of dark, you can no longer see God’s goodness. It feels so far away. Further away still is his love. We can’t see anything but the trial in front of us.

Like the sunrise, if we wait long enough, if we hold on to faith and keep believing, the sun will slowly begin to rise. It will take some time, but the process of coming out of the darkness and into light—coming out on the other side—will begin. It’s a slow process, but it’s a beautiful one. Along the way, we will begin to see traces of God’s faithfulness, his love, his goodness. It’s been there all along, but we just couldn’t see it. As God begins to work, we will see his hand once again. Eventually, we will be on the other side of the trial, out of of that season of darkness. But if we’re not careful, we will have missed the beauty along the way.

The Morning Always Comes

Shauna Niequest puts it this way:

Because this is how life is. We get stuck in the dark, sometimes for a long time. We ache for morning. And sometimes it seems like it will never come. But this is also how life is. Dawn always breaks. Morning always comes.
From I Guess I Haven’t Learned that Yet by Shauna Niequiest

David put it this way:

I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Psalm 27:13 KJV

God’s Goodness and Unfailing Love

If you are in a season of dark right now, if if seems like your hope is gone, let me encourage you with these words.

For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation
Psalm 100:5

God has not forgotten you; he sees you and hears you. His unfailing love and faithfulness still wrap around you today. You may not be able to see it right now; your faith may not be strong enough to feel it right now. That’s okay. You can borrow some of my faith for today. When your faith isn’t strong enough, lean on somebody else’s faith until you can stand back on your own. I’ve done that so many times. So lean on my faith and hear me when I say, God is still faithful. He still loves you, and he is still right beside you. You continue to do what’s right; don’t quit. He’s going to get you through this. Don’t miss the beauty in the journey.

Seeing Past the Dark

Watch for the light. You will begin to see little signs of him working in your life after a long season of nothing. Don’t miss the little flashes of color along the way. Keep hoping, keep believing, keep growing, keep trusting. Because if you do, there are great things on the other side of this dark season.

For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him!
Psalm 64:4 NLT

For More Encouragement

For more encouragement on this topic, check out my posts, When You Feel Like God Has Forgotten You and Choosing Hope—the Best is Yet to Come. You can also check out my book, The Hidden Pain: When You Fear God is No Longer Blessing Your life. It’s currently on sale on Amazon for $9.65. Another great book is Kara Tippetts’ book, The Hardest Peace: Expecting Grace in the Midst of Life’s Hard. That book is also on sale on Amazon. It’s currently $9.84.

Don’t Give Up on the Dream God has Given You

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Do you have a dream that seems so far out of touch? Maybe God placed something on your heart years ago, and you’ve been following him every day but things just aren’t working out. Sometimes it feels like that dream seems so far away, and you just want to give up on it.

The Dreamer

There are some verses in Psalms that talk about the boy we know as the dreamer, Joseph.

Then he sent someone to Egypt ahead of them— Joseph, who was sold as a slave^.They bruised his feet with fetters and placed his neck in an iron collar. Until the time came to fulfill his dreams, the Lord tested Joseph’s character.
Psalm 105:17-19 NLT

These verses catch and hold my interest because of how things play out. God sends Joseph to Egypt not as a hero but as a slave. So, he already has a hard go of it. Then things get worse for Joseph. He ends up in prison, hence the bruised feet with fetters and the neck in an iron collar. Joseph didn’t do any of those things, and interestingly, neither did God. God orchestrated the events to bring Joseph to Egypt but then it’s sort of hands-off for a while. God uses this time and these circumstances to test Joseph’s character.

Joseph’s Dreams Come to Pass

Then, God sets things right for Joseph. Suddenly, the clock speeds up and everything falls into place for Joseph.

Then Pharaoh sent for him and set him free; the ruler of the nation opened his prison door.Joseph was put in charge of all the king’s household; he became ruler over all the king’s possessions. He could instructthe king’s aides as he pleased and teach the king’s advisers.
Psalm 105:20-22

God had a plan to make Joseph’s wildest dreams come true. He had such an incredible plan for Joseph’s life, but it wasn’t quick and it wasn’t easy. What if Joseph had given up? What if he had given up and walked away from it all because in his mind, things would never work out? We know just how much Joseph would have missed out on, had he done that.

Walking Away from Our Dream

What we don’t know is how much we are risking if we walk away from what God has for us. How much are we going to miss out on if we don’t stay at it, if we don’t follow the dream God gave us? We could be so close to a breakthrough. God could literally be moving things right now in your life or mine to bring things to fruition that we never thought possible. But if we walk away from it, we won’t ever see those blessings. We won’t ever see those dreams come to pass.

I know it’s hard. Seasons of trial always are. You may feel broken right now and don’t think you can stay in the fight. I’m telling you, you can. You just have to focus on staying in the fight today. Just for the next hour, the next minute. What does staying in the fight look like?

Staying in the Fight

It’s staying with your husband and not giving up on your marriage. Getting up early and spending time with God in his Word and journaling even when it feels like he is so very far away and silent. Showing up for church, even when your spirit isn’t in the right place. Praising God and singing though your heart feels so heavy it might break.

It’s smiling and encouraging someone else when they have no idea how much you need the encouragement yourself. Giving towards someone else’s need when you don’t have enough money for your own bills. Loving on that neighbor who is so frustrating and causes so many problems. It’s choosing to show up in love and faith today and live the life that God’s called you to live to the very best of your ability.

It’s simply choosing to take the next step today and then the next and the next. I call it faithfully stepping. One day at a time. One moment at a time.

The Dream Fulfilled

I wonder if Joseph woke up one morning and walked out on his terrace and viewed the whole land of Egypt before him as his beautiful wife came and stood next to him and his two boys ran around them and wondered at the sheer goodness of God. I wonder if he thought about the fact that nothing in his wildest dreams as a boy-dreamer came close to the things God had ordained in his life.

I think he did. He had to have. He was the dreamer and once a dreamer, always a dreamer. The thing about a dreamer is that they always wake up. A dream always ends and reality always comes. In Joseph’s case, the reality was even more beautiful than the dream. God wants that for us too; we have to simply continue to keep faithfully stepping until the dream comes to fruition.

For More Encouragement

For more encouragement, check out my post When You Feel Like Quitting or check out my husband’s book, Breakthrough: Transforming the Death of a Dream to the Birth of a Breakthrough.

3 Promises You Need to Hear During This Crisis

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picture of mom and daughter — Madison and I

Frustrations and Fears

My eight-year-old, Madison, is usually pretty good about working through her subjects for school independently. This morning, however, was a different story. This morning, Language was her undoing. It wasn’t even that hard of an assignment, but she just couldn’t get it. The frustration came first, then the tears. As soon as I saw the tears, I knew she must be tired. She doesn’t cry that often and usually not over her school.

Matt saw her struggling and asked her to come and sit on his lap. He just held her while he continued working. When she had calmed down, I directed her to the table, where I had paint cards, paints, and paintbrushes set out. We changed up the schedule and got right to painting. Soon Madison was smiling at the table and painting. It wasn’t too long before I heard her giggling. I smiled because I knew she had made it past her crisis of the morning.

With this whole coronavirus deal, I think most of us feel how Madison felt this morning… simply at the end of our rope. We feel pushed past our limits, frustrated, and fearful. If you feel that way, I have good news for you. You’re not alone! Not only do I share those same feelings with you, but Paul totally understood what it felt like to endure hardships. He gives us some encouragement for going through hard times in I Corinthians.

No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it. I Corinthians 10:13 MSG

Paul writes that God has three conditions for His testing and trials in our lives. It’s not just “anything goes.” He has three promises for us when going through a trial. Understanding these three promises help fortify us to stand strong and endure.

1. God promises there is nothing you can go through that somebody else hasn’t already been through.

Solomon says in Ecclesiastes that there is nothing new under the sun. Sometimes that’s frustrating because we want to be different. We want to feel like nobody has ever had it as bad as we have it, but that’s simply not the truth. We have to remind ourselves, somebody has already been through what I am going through.

That can give us incredible encouragement. When Satan tries to discourage you and whispers that you have it worse than anybody else, remind yourself that you don’t. If others have made it through this, then you can too.

A way to get the focus off of your problems is to focus on who you can help, even in the midst of your trial. Who else has it worse than you do right now? I promise, if you look hard enough, you can always find someone who has it worse. Focus on them. Focusing on others in the midst of your own pain is a sure way to be encouraged.

2. God promises you won’t be pushed past what you can handle.

This is so encouraging! God says He won’t let something happen to you that will absolutely crush you. Even though it may feel that way right now, this trial won’t destroy you. God has complete control of your life and circumstances, and he won’t allow that to happen. Paul, of all people, was the best person to hear this from. Paul endured many trials and hardships. If he said God won’t give you more than you can handle, he knows what he’s talking about.

So when you’re tempted to fold under the discouragement and helplessness you feel, when you want to crawl back into bed and not face the pressure and challenges of today, remember this — God has made you strong enough to get through this and whatever else is coming. God said he won’t allow you to be given more than you can handle, and you can take God at His Word. So push away those thoughts and remind yourself that you are strong in Christ.

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Philippians 4:13 KJV

3. God promises He will walk through this trial with you.

Finally, in the midst of this trial, remember the most important point. God has promised His presence in your trial.

For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” Hebrews 13:5 NLT

Even when it feels that God is the furthest away, know that He is with you. What about when it feels like He isn’t? That’s when faith steps in. It’s easy to forget that it takes faith to live this life. The same faith it took to put your trust in God to save you is the same faith you need to choose to believe He is still with you when you are in the midst of this trial. You have to choose to believe that He will see this through to the end of this.

Journaling Prompts

One of the best things we can do when going through a difficult season of life is to process our thoughts through journaling. I have created a journaling worksheet you can download for free HERE. This download includes a journaling worksheet and 12 verses to claim. I am a huge advocate of journaling! It helps so much to process what you are going through.

If you enjoyed this post, check out last week’s post- Can You Really Find Hope in a Crisis?

God Uses Trials to Develop Iron in our Souls

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photo credit: Kalen Emsley

Deserts and Prisons

We can’t always make sense of what God is doing in our lives. Sometimes, though, we can begin to see a pattern in the way God deals with people. In the Bible, God sent people to prisons and deserts. Joseph, John the Baptist, Jeremiah, and Paul all went to prison and Moses, Elijah, and David spent time in the desert. A desert and a prison have the same effect– you are cut off from everything you know, the comforts you are used to, and thrown into an entirely new set of circumstances, totally dependent on God.

It’s in the prisons and deserts of life that we learn an entirely new way of depending on God. It’s the place where God begins to show us more of Himself. It was in the desert that God called Moses from the burning bush to return to Egypt and free the Israelites. God revealed the next stage of Elijah’s ministry to him during his time in the desert. When Jeremiah was imprisoned, God spoke to him and gave him the amazing words we comfort ourselves with still today.

Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. Jeremiah 33:3

Job’s Story

We see another example of this in the book of Job. While Job’s story doesn’t take him to a literal prison, his circumstances were similar. God took away everything from Job and left him destitute. Job gets to know God in an entirely new way. Job no longer knew about God, he knew God personally. At the end of his trial, Job had this to say.

I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Job 42:5

Captivity

There’s an interesting verse at the end of the book of Job that captured my attention recently.

And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. Job 42:10

I think it is so interesting that God calls Job’s testing captivity. It gives us a glimpse into the way God deals with us in trials and testings. The word captivity we can understand. It’s the idea of being a prisoner. God allowed Job to be a prisoner during his time of testing. The time of testing came to an end, and God restored Job’s wealth to him and gave him more children.

What brought about the end of Job’s testing? What happened to Job that God said, “Ok, that’s enough. You passed the test.”?

Iron in Our Soul

I’m not completely sure but I think David may give us a glimpse of it in the Psalms. There’s a really interesting verse in Psalm 105 that talks about Joseph’s time of testing.

He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant:

Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron:

Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him. Psalm 105:17-19

The phrase he was laid in iron literally means “his soul came into iron.” He developed iron in his soul. Joseph was not the same person when God finished testing him. What does it mean to have iron in your soul? It carries the idea of spiritual “toughening up.” God knows that we can’t stay the way we are and hope to serve Him faithfully for a lifetime. Life is just too hard. So He sends us into captivity, times of testing to toughen us up, so we will stay faithful in the long run.

Times of Iron Strengthening

I know in my life personally, Matt and I are not the same people we were when we started our church seven years ago. God has used these years of testing to toughen us up, not to have a hard heart but a tough skin. Matt often says that we need to keep a tender heart but grow a thick skin. The ministry is tough. People can be cruel. God does things we don’t understand. If we want to get through all that, we have to keep a tender heart to the Lord but toughen up a little bit. We can’t let hurtful comments, bad days, and heartbreak keep us from what we know the Lord called us to do.

I don’t know what you are going through, but I know that God allows times in our lives when we are held captive and tested beyond what we think we can manage so that He can put iron in our souls.

A Heart of Iron

Two dear friends of mine are in such a time right now. They both have cancer and are clinging to God during this time. They are totally dependent on God as their worlds have come crashing down. As I pray for them and hurt for them, I am watching the iron process taking place. Somehow they are stronger than they were when they started; they have more faith and grace than what they started with. I am watching as God takes them through this process and is refining them and changing them.

I wonder if that’s what Pharoah saw in Joseph when Joseph stood before him in the palace. He saw a man fresh from prison, but he saw in this young man a heart of iron.

My challenge to you and to myself is to not give up and throw in the towel. God is at work refining us. It’s in this refining process that we get to know Him in an entirely new way. It’s in these difficult times of testing that God is developing iron in our soul so that we can stay faithful for a lifetime.

Handling Trials

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Always Carrying Everyone Else

Are you the kind of person that’s always carrying everybody else? Do you encourage people when they are down, help others as much as you can, and stay strong for your friends and family?

Often, those of us who help everybody else don’t handle our own trials well. In the book of Job, we read about all that happens to Job in a short amount of time. He loses everything in one day, and his friends come to comfort him. Job’s friend Eliphaz speaks candidly with him in Job 4.

Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands.

Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees.

But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled. Job 4:3-5

Eliphaz says, “Job, I get it. You’ve always been the strong one. You’ve taught so many people, you’ve encouraged others, you’ve helped the elderly, you have always had a kind word for people who are having a hard time. But now, it’s your turn. You’re the one in the trial. Job, you’re the one who is in trouble now, and you’re not handling the pressure very well. You’re fainting; you’re failing.”

The Tables Have Turned

I read these verses in my morning time and stopped to think about them for a few minutes. I thought about how those words could have been said about me. These words are so harsh, but for how many of us, do they ring true?

We have taught God’s Word to others, we have encouraged those around us, we have stood by friends as they have faced tragedy and heartache, we have been the one to write the notes of encouragement to others. We have always been the strong one leading and encouraging those around us. But now, the tables have turned. Now it’s our turn to face hardships.

It’s so easy to be strong for other people, but when your own set of burdens and hardships push you down and the weight feels like more than you can bear, what do you do?

How Do We Handle Trials?

1. Get serious about your morning time. Spend time praying, reading your Bible, and journaling. The time you spend with God in the morning will be your sustaining grace and strength to get through. Often when we are going through a hard time, we start to pull away from God. Usually, it’s because we’re hurt and upset with Him, but now is when you need Him the most. Tell Him honestly how you feel, how you’re hurt, how you feel betrayed. Cling to Him. Satan wants to use this time of trial and testing to make you doubt God, question His goodness, and pull away from Him. Then he can move in and destroy you. Times of trial and testing are when we need to pull closest to God; it’s when we are the weakest and most open to attack. If you want some inspiration for morning time, you can read my post here for tips for an effective morning time.

2. Don’t go at it alone. You can’t make it on your own. Find a good support system. Your spouse, family, friends, or small group. Tell others what is going on in your life. Find those you trust, who can keep it confidential if you need them to. Let them carry your burdens with you. Keep them updated on how they can pray specifically for you. Let them know how they can tangibly help. Your friends want to help during times of hardship, but sometimes they just don’t know what to do.

3. Read books that encourage and strengthen your faith. Here are a few good ones, if you need some ideas.

Uninvited by Lisa TerKeurst
The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson
The Hardest Peace by Kara Tippets
Get Out of That Pit by Beth Moore
Daring to Hope by Katie Davis Major

Ultimately, remember that God loves you and is working out the details of your life for His purpose. Choose to see His goodness. Choose to trust that everything is working together for His glory and my good.

photo credit: Alexandru Tudorache

4 Ways to Encourage Yourself in the Lord

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There comes a time in every Christian’s life when you must learn to encourage yourself in the Lord. There is only so much help you can get from listening to preaching, reading an inspiring book, or listening to an uplifting song. Eventually, a time will come in your life when you are going to need something more. You are going to need God Himself to encourage you. It is a time when the trial is so great, the pain so intense, that your hope is gone. This is exactly where we find David in I Samuel 30.

David’s Hopeless Situation

For a time, David and his men and their families lived in the city of Ziklag. David and his men left to go help fight in a battle. They ended up not being needed in the war, so they returned home. Upon their arrival, they are met with an awful scene. The fierce Amalekites have invaded Ziklag, taken all the women and children captive, and burned the city with fire.

So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives.

Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.

And David’s two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.

And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God. I Samuel 30:3-6

David’s Encouragement

The men with him were in such shock and grief that they spoke of stoning David, their beloved leader. David is in an awful place. He is grieving for his own loss, and now he must face his men who are angry with him and want to kill him.

David did the only thing he knew to do, he turned to God. This was his habit, his go-to in bad situations. In the midst of loss and fear, David took time to give himself courage by spending time with God.

How do you encourage yourself in the Lord? Matt and I have this outstanding joke that when the Bible talks about encouraging yourself in the Lord, it refers to having Mexican food. We are pretty sure that when David encouraged himself in the Lord, he went and ate Mexican food– some fajitas with chips and salsa and guac. Maybe not, but I have found a few things that have worked for me over the years.

4 Ways to Encourage Yourself in the Lord

First I pray. I talk to God about everything that is on my mind– my burdens, hurts, frustrations, and pressures. I talk to Him honestly and openly about my problems and ask for His help.
Next, I read my Bible and journal. If I need encouragement, I turn to Psalms or the Gospels. I spend time reading God’s words and just let Him speak to me. I have a journal that I use every day for my morning time with God, and I use that to write down what encourages me.
Then I release write. For this, I use a different journal. I have a journal specifically for release writing. In it, I write out my frustration, exasperation, hurt, pain, whatever it is. I write it all down and get it out of my head. I find this helps me to be able to process what I am dealing with instead of just letting it roll around in my head, paralyzing me from moving forward.
Lastly, I do something that encourages my spirit. I might go for a quiet walk, read an uplifting book, or listen to an encouraging podcast or good music.

These steps don’t fix the situation, but they give me the encouragement I need to keep moving forward. What about you? How do you encourage yourself in the Lord?