Have you ever felt like you are going along in life and you really can’t see where you’re going? I believe we all feel that way at times. We maybe have made plans for our lives and things seem to be going as planned. But then things come into our lives and we don’t know where they came from and how we are going to make it through. We wish we could see as God sees so that we could understand the reason for our trouble.
I remember when I was around 20. I had a job that required me to drive around 45 minutes to work. We lived out in the country in a farming community. My drive was mostly on narrow, curvy roads. I recall one particular day when I was on my way home. It was dark and snowing really hard. The temperatures were just right for the snow to freeze to the window. I had the heat on full blast, hitting the window. And my wipers were going. But it would build up and I could not see. I would have to reach out the window, grab the wiper and bang it. I had to do this every few minutes. I did stop once to give it a more thorough cleaning but that did not last much longer. It was nerve-racking, exhausting, and dangerous. The car was a manual, adding to the difficulty. Thankfully I made it home safely. I do not enjoy times like this and I am always grateful to be on the other side of it.
I don’t know about you but sometimes I feel the same way in my Christian walk. I can be going a long and everything seems fine then a “snow storm” hits and I can’t see the way in front of me. The trials and temptations seem to stick to me. I keep reaching out and trying to “scrape” the effects away so that I can see clearly but it doesn’t seem to make any difference. It helps for a short time but then again I can’t see clearly. Then the frustration sets in. I am pouring on the “heat” (prayer) but it does not seem to be enough. I am putting forth the effort the “scrape” the temptations and trial away by spending time in God’s Word. What is going to make the difference?
I think there is good reason why God does not allow us to know what is coming. I think back to my drive home. If I would have known how bad of a drive it was going to be I might have stayed parked in town for an hour to see if it would pass over. Another words I would have stopped moving, at least for a time. I think the same is true of our lives. We would fail to keep moving forward if we could know what is going to happen. Maybe I would not have had children if I would have known that I would have lost one, maybe if we knew we were going to get in that car accident we would not leave home, or maybe we wouldn’t get that job if we knew what temptations we would in counter, etc. The problem is that if we always knew what was going to happen next we would live out of fear and we would never move or grow.
The question is what can we do about it. I have a 6 steps I would encourage you to do. They may seem elementary but sometimes I think we forget the simplicity of God.
- Spend time with God. You may be thinking, “I already do that and it doesn’t seem to be helping.” It may seem that it is not helping but it is foundational. Just like I needed to keep banging the ice off my windshield wiper, we need to keep in God’s Word.
- Spend time in prayer. We need to continue to pray, crying out to God. We need to keep the heat on that old devil and praying is a part of the formula.
- Memorize Scripture. Hide Scripture in your heart so that when the trials and temptations come you can quote His Word. Satan hates God’s Word and that will make him really start “melting”.
- Praise God. I have found that if I praise God through the trials I find blessings. This also turns the “heat” up on the devil.
- Ask God, “What are you wanting to teach me through this?” Everything that comes into our lives is for a purpose and as we ask Him, He will show us what refining we can gain through our situation. It may take time for us to see it but He will show us if our hearts are open to listen.
- Surrender all to Him. As we surrender to Him it will no longer just be us reaching out and banging off the windshield wiper. His hand will be over ours and His strength will be added to ours. As we cooperate together with Him we will have peace through the circumstances and trials. Things around might not change but God can help us live through these refining experiences with joy and peace. Remember His strength is made perfect through our weakness. (See 2 Corinthians 12:9)
Dear Father,
We struggle so much with giving all to You. We feel that if we give up our control that everything will go out of control. But the reality is that as we give all to You, giving up our rights and our control, we will have the peace that passeth all understanding. It is true that it does not make human sense but we want to trust You. Continue to prompt us with Your love.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
I have had the peace of God when I have surrendered and it is so much easier. But I still have not learned to always give all to Him. I just encourage you do try it. No matter what you are going through, today, give these steps a try to see the blessing that comes.
Love you all.
These steps are definitely not exhaustive so I would love to hear from you. What have you done to help you through the trials and temptations of life?