Are you caught off guard when the power bill arrives every month? Not because of the bill itself, but just because the power company sent you one?
Are you surprised by Christmas just showing up?
No. We expect to receive bills for our utilities- and we know that Christmas is on December 25th every year. We expect it.
However we seem surprised every time a trial hits our lives. Like we just totally didn’t expect it. I mean what is a trial doing, showing up, in our lives when we serve God?
We love to claim the good things in the bible- blessings, favor, overcoming…
But in order to have blessings you have to have went through rough storms, in order to have favor you had to have been at the bottom. How could you recognize overcoming if there wasn’t something to overcome?
We claim the good- but we skip over the parts in the bible that tell us to be prepared for the trials. Jesus said ‘you shall suffer persecution’. Why do we think we are exempt? Why are we surprised by attacks of the enemy.
It would be like getting my paycheck and spending every bit of it- and then be surprised when bills show up at my house and I say “Where did these come from? How am I going to pay these?”
We cannot be ignorant of satan’s devices. We have to know that trials will come. We have to be prepared for the storms that will hit. But there is good news in a storm’s arrival. It means it’s testing time. It means God sees you are ready for the next level- and you only get to the next level by way of an enemy or a trial. -Don’t focus on the perilous sea, Peter!-
Realize that these times must happen- but you are GUARANTEED to win! You are guaranteed to overcome. There is a parable which most should know. Two men built houses, one on the sand, one on a rock. The same storm hit both homes- the same rains came down upon them, the same winds blew against their homes- but only one stood. That is the guarantee we have. If we build upon the foundation of God’s word, we can ‘outlast’ any storm or trial.
We worry when we doubt God’s promises. We expect thing’s not to change- and so we are caught unaware- and we suffer for it. If we prepare our self with prayer, the Word, and good management in our lives- then we will be ready when bad times come. We will see an increase when others are barely keeping their heads above water or sinking.
God and His word are the only constant in life. God will not change, and His word will not change. So don’t hold onto comfortable places or positions in life- they WILL change. It is inevitable that change will come. Your life will change. Your job situation will change. Your friends will change. Your family will change. Your finances will change. This is all for the good and the bad.
Enjoy the good times and stock up during them for the bad that will come. In the bad times don’t fret, after all you should have known it was going to come, the good thing is it’s guaranteed to go. Everything changes. Praise God it changes. If we hold onto material, earthly things because we think it’s ours forever we are going to be distraught when that stuff leaves us. But if we live in the kingdom everyday- then everything we have belongs to the King. Even the time belongs to the Lord. The place in our life is His and He does not change. I can still trust His word in the midst of every battle. I can still trust Him when everything is stacked against me. So if finances begin to dwindle, but I have been managing correctly, it’s OK. Because He owns that too. He’s allowing that time to hit, that storm to come my way. But I will get promotion on the other side, an increase when I make it through- I am guaranteed to come out of the situation. It’s just a season. It’s temporary.
He’s the God of change- but He Himself will not change- so all I need is His word. His promises. Him. After all He IS everything. He is the I AM.
Be thankful for the promise of change.
