Have Faith To Persevere Through Your Trials & Tribulations – Both Real & Perceived

Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(15) The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, (16) for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.‘ (1 Corinthians 2:15-16); ‘The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the folly of fools is deception.’ (Proverbs 14:8)

I’m sure that many who read this blog have feelings and emotions based on the results of the midterm elections.  Perhaps all of us have relief that we will no longer be receiving political texts and calls, or be subject to seemingly never-ending stream of political ads that we encounter while attempting to watch your favorite programs or football games.  (I know I’m relieved.)

Some will be pleased over the results, and others will be distressed.  We may read into the results and gain perspectives that may not necessarily be true or will come true; however, what we can deduce from the results is this Truth: We vote corporately for the leadership and representation we want, and we vote corporately for the leadership and representation we deserve.  Either way, understand that the Lord knew this would be the result, and has allowed this result to stand.

For those who are distressed, and in my opinion, there may be viable reasons to feel this way; it is more difficult to gain a perspective of hope coming out of this distress.  We all face distressing situations throughout our lives, and we don’t want them to happen and live lives of comfort and painless joy and happiness.  But we must face these times, as we all must deal with the painful facts of life, from paying our bills all the way to dealing with issues of our health and the health of our loved ones, up to and including when death occurs.  We never want to experience these trials and tribulations, but we all do.

As Believers, we are fortunate that through the Holy Spirit, we have the Faith in the Lord’s provisions and His backing that we can lean on Him, and allow Him to strengthen us and our resolve in facing these situations.  While not all situations are dire or all that distressful (paying a recurring bill is a known pain point and more of a routine chore, in comparison to receiving notification of a serious health illness requiring medical treatment), all situations involve God at our side, giving us His strength, wisdom, and provisions.  It is not always our first thought to remember that God is involved in all things concerning our lives.

There are some ‘quotable quotes’ that, fitting in with Biblical Truth, I try to remember daily to follow.  I’ve mentioned before US Navy Vice Admiral James Stockdale’s quote, “This is a very important lesson. You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.” 

Admiral Stockdale was a POW in Vietnam, so he had to have great discipline to face his reality (a captive tortured during his imprisonment) with his Faith that the Lord would somehow, some way, return him home or take away his suffering.  Stockdale’s strength in his Faith in Christ allowed him to be even keeled; as others had died out of losing hope over hearing reports of imminent release followed by the disappointment of continued captivity, Stockdale did not allow his hopes to be raised by rumor or dashed by reality, but accepted his situation as it was.

Stockdale’s mindset was similar to the verses of 1 Corinthians 2:15-16; we who are in with Christ have the Spirit who can aid us in determining a path to face the realities we daily face.  It is human nature to react with the realization of ‘hope’ with overwhelming feelings, only to fall into depressing disappointment when that hope fails to materialize (think Clark Griswold’s hope of a big Christmas check, only to receive the ‘Jelly of the Month’ membership).  We as Christians can fall into this despair as well; it is likely Stockdale had moments of disappointment over his captivity, but it was his Faith in Christ, which we all should rely on, to get us back on track to move forward despite our failings.  

We cannot allow ourselves to be like the stereotypical ostriches, who bury their heads in the sand to avoid seeing (and dealing) with the dangers surrounding them. (Ostriches don’t really do this, by the way.)  In Proverbs 14:8, the ‘folly of fools’ is the deception they have in believing ‘all is well’ despite the reality of issues surrounding them.  We Floridians may want to believe hurricanes are not a threat and not prepare for them.  The ‘wisdom of the prudent’ is to take the steps, whether we want to or not, to prepare for hurricanes to come, whether it looks like they are coming or not.   

Whether it is hurricanes or other disasters, natural or man-made, that may come, realize what is happening all around, pray for the Lord’s discernment and wisdom, and BE PREPARED, BE AWARE, and PLAN ACCORDINGLY.  As an old Army bubba said to me, once upon a time, ‘If you fail to prepare, you’re preparing to fail.’ 

Prepare mentally by accepting the situations around you; prepare physically with the goods, supplies and services needed to survive and live through the situations around you.  Most importantly, prepare Spiritually by praying, studying the Word of the Lord, and engage in fellowship with other believers to keep the Faith needed to survive and live through the situations around you.