difficulty | Enough Tribulations Peace & Deliverance Ministries

Tag Archive: difficulty

Can Storms Last Forever?

July 1, 2022

Storms don’t last forever. It is scientifically proven that storms usually come to an end. The common idiom “after a storm comes a calm,” means that things will likely improve after a difficult and stressful season. Jesus did not promise that you will go through life on this earth without any difficulty. He reminded you that “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Therefore, if you are going through a difficult storm in your life right now, it will eventually come to an end. God is always on time, and He knows the right time for everything. For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under Heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

Although it may appear that Jesus is sleeping during your storm, it is crucial for you to have faith and ride out your storm with Him; because at any moment He can calm your storm. Mark 4:35-41 recounts the moment that Jesus was in a boat on a lake with His disciples. But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water. During the storm, Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat. The disciples woke Him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are going to drown?” When Jesus woke up, He rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm.

Tags: calm, difficulty, end, faith, God, Heaven, Jesus, peace, season, storm, stressful, tribulations, world

Comment

We want God to change our circumstances, but God wants to use our circumstances to change us.

Filed under: Inspirational — 8 Comments

January 11, 2015

It can be easy to think that God is obligated to make life easy for us and to remove all of our difficult circumstances. But, the truth is that during hard times God is preparing us for greater things. If He removed the difficult circumstances in our lives, we would probably never mature.

James 1:2-4 says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” In other words, rejoice in “trials of many kinds”, because they test your faith, which causes you to grow closer to God. Indeed, God assures us that something beneficial can come from the hard times in life.

If you are going through trials now, take hope in the fact that almost everyone in the Bible who did great things for God also had to endure great hardships. For example, in 2 Corinthians 11:24-27, Paul recounts many of the difficult circumstances that he had gone through: “Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.”

Clearly, Paul had suffered greatly for the Gospel. However, God used those circumstances to make Paul more mature and to give him a great love for God and for spreading God’s Word. Now, Paul is widely considered the second most important person in the New Testament—behind Jesus, of course. However, we must remember that Paul had to go through many difficult trials. It was those times of testing that caused Paul to grow closer to God, qualifying him to be a great witness for Christ.

This same principle can be seen in almost every other person in the Bible who did great things for God. It was during times of testing that such people developed the strength and character for which we respect them.

Therefore, don’t always beg God to change your circumstances. Instead, view each as an opportunity for God to change you, making you “mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

Contributed: Christ Notes