I remember the names of all of my elementary school teachers. I remember my home phone number from when I was a kid. I remember the interception I threw against Jackson when I was a senior. I remember the address and apartment number where Robyn and I lived 29 years ago.
So why is it so hard to remember God is faithful?
I would bet almost everything (99%?) I’ve worried about in my life never even happened. How much energy have I invested in imagining worst-case outcomes from difficult meetings or conversations? Bills I didn’t know how I’d pay? Medical issues? Circumstances involving my kids?
You and I have very powerful imaginations. That’s why scary movies are scary. We get caught up in a story and actually feel the tension and nervousness. It doesn’t matter that we know this was a film shot on a movie set with actors. The fact that none of it is real doesn’t matter.
Our imaginations take over and we lose the ability to differentiate between what’s real and what’s not.
What you allow into your mind…what you think about…what you imagine…is POWERFUL.
I don’t know what you’re facing today. Maybe it’s a serious issue in your marriage or with one of your kids. Maybe it’s the possibility of being laid off in the next six weeks. Maybe it’s an ongoing medical issue.
I know what I’m facing right now. And I know if I’m not diligent in guarding my mind, then my thoughts will spin out of control and I’ll be consumed with worry, anxiety and fear. If I allow that condition to persist, I’ll soon feel the familiar, stabbing pain behind my eye and a full-blown migraine will take me down for the day.
So what are we to do? How do we keep going when the news is filled with terrorist attacks in Paris, the national debt in the U.S. is $20 trillion and our own lives are filled with so much uncertainty?
James said, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
I’ll never forget what my friend, Doug Daily, said many years ago…growth is always preceded by pain or confusion. Trials test our faith, which produces perseverance. And that leads to maturity. That’s something I need to remember.
So though unpleasant, we can “consider it pure joy” when we face trials.
I’ll be honest, I’m still not there. I resist trials. I resent trials. I pray trials will end. I long for an end to any and all painful or confusing circumstances in my life or in the lives of those I love.
So is it really possible to consider trials as pure joy? I mean, come on, seriously? Joy?
The only way to do it is to remember. That God is faithful. Not to eliminate all the trials, but to walk with us through them moment-by-moment.
Again, if I’m being honest, I’d still rather have the trial removed than to know I’ll have to walk through a situation that doesn’t appear to have a quick or easy ending to it. I suspect you feel like I do.
And yet, that’s not real life.
In the real world, there are trials. Often we simply cannot see how things will work out.
And so we must remember God is faithful. To all that He has promised. To being with us every step of the way. If He doesn’t bring relief, then He will supply peace.
Our job is to remember the truth. It’s the only way to reject the lies that scream at us all day long…
“I’ll never make it!”
“God can’t be trusted!”
“I’m going to be humiliated!”
“God doesn’t care about me!”
I’m in the battle with you, my friend. I don’t have this all figured out. I doubt. I get discouraged. But I am 100% convinced this life doesn’t work apart from an intimate relationship with God. Because if I don’t know Him, then I can’t trust Him. I’ll never believe He’s faithful if I believe my circumstances, not God.
Here at the end of 2015, you may be struggling to believe God. Maybe like me, you remember obscure facts from long ago, but forget God is good and faithful and loves you like crazy.
I’d like to offer you a free copy of my eBook, “I Believe God.” It’s a 40-day devotional designed to help you believe God, not what the world, your circumstances, the negative opinions of others or your own feelings are telling you.
I hope you’ll download a copy and begin to work through it each day. Please feel free to share this link with a friend also. It’s so much better to start this journey of believing God with someone rather than going it alone.