What are you going to do when life gets hard? And it does get hard for everyone - somehow, some way, someday.
How prepared are you to face life’s toughest challenges?
How well can you defend yourself against the harshest attacks of the enemy?
Start preparing now by practicing faith!
Think of the worst thing that could possibly happen, and put yourself in God’s hands in that situation.
Put your hope and trust in the Lord, and not in the things of this world.
How do we glorify God, and remain faithful to Him in our darkest hour? How do we put our trust in Him, and not fear or be anxious?
We have to be prepared to do so when it matters most.
Ecclesiastes 7:1-4 (NLT) A good reputation is more valuable than costly perfume. And the day you die is better than the day you are born. Better to spend your time at funerals than at parties. After all, everyone dies— so the living should take this to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us. A wise person thinks a lot about death, while a fool thinks only about having a good time.
Pray that God will give you strength in your faith so that you will not lose it in times of tribulation, such as:
- You lose your job.
- A natural disaster destroys your house.
- Your house burns down.
- Someone steals your car.
- You and/or your family are violently attacked.
- You are tortured.
- A member of your family is tortured.
- A member of your family is tortured in front of you.
- A member of your family is killed.
- A member of your family is killed in front of you.
- You get diagnosed with a terminal illness.
- Your house is broken into while you are not home.
- Your house is broken into while you are home.
- Your country devolves into civil war.
- You are arrested for upholding your belief in God.
- You and your family are taken captive into a concentration camp.
- You run out of food and water and begin to thirst and starve to death.
- You are stuck outside in the elements and begin to freeze to death.
- You lose everything you own and everyone you love.
These are some pretty extreme situations to even think about - to be sure - but these are the kinds of things Christians have been facing since Jesus walked the earth.
Maybe what you are going through is nowhere near as extreme as these, but it’s hard nonetheless. I won’t tell you to minimize your struggle in light of someone else’s greater struggle. The hardest thing each of us has ever gone through is still the hardest thing we have each gone through, regardless of how hard anything else has been to anyone else.
The good news is that God has you in His hands, no matter what! And the point of this article is for you to focus on that fact.
Keep your eyes on God - no matter how blurred they are by tears.
Remember that this life is temporary, and one day you will be with God in heaven, and there will be no more pain, no more suffering, no more tears.
God sees you. He hears your prayers. He knows what you need. And He works all things for the good of those who trust in Him. (Romans 8:28)
So trust Him!
Endure in your love for God to the end, for your reward will be the crown of life! (James 1:12)
I just want to encourage you in your faith. I pray that God will increase your faith, so that you can endure, and you will receive the crown of life!
I’ve been studying Revelation a lot and I see a couple of the main points are for us to:
- get away from idols and focus on God, and
- put our absolute, unyielding faith and trust in God
Because God is working out His plan, and we are part of it! Our part in His plan is to be faithful, to trust Him, and to follow (obey) Him wherever He leads us.
If you make this your main focus, you will be on the right path! So I encourage you - endure in your faith, endure in your love, endure in trusting God.
Don’t just suffer through, but hold your head high because we follow the King of Glory, and He has the victory and rewards all those who belong to Him!