"Be Joyful in Hope, Patient in Affliction and Faithful in Prayer"
Joyful in Hope
I’ll be
the first to admit I look for “Murphy” to show up at every turn. It has been said that the more responsibility
you have the more contingency plans you have to make. If you are not careful your expectations of
life can become more about the negative hurdles than the journey toward success. Being “Joyful in Hope” speaks to the mental
and emotional state of being during trials.
If God is a part of our life, and He is, then God is a part of our trial
and delivery. So while life experiences
may condition us to watch for the next hurdle, our expectation of God’s
presence in our life should motivate us to maintain our pace toward the finish
line.
Patient in Affliction
Patience
is powerful. Being “Patient in
Affliction” does not mean to sit idle and do nothing. Patience is meant to give you time to gained
enough understanding to use wisdom in your next step. Rather than being emotionally reactive with
no time to develop a rational analysis or gain spiritual insight, use the
delayed time period of affliction to empower yourself. Too many people make rash decisions to get
out of their trial as soon as possible.
In any situation you can advantage yourself with time. Time to calm down, time to re-think, time to
get your facts straight, time to seek spiritual insight, time to gain wisdom
from others, time for the situation to possibly change, time to contemplate a
better solution, time to decide if doing nothing could benefit you more than
responding at all. If you do not
absolutely have to make an immediate decision, patience will empower you.
Faithful in Prayer
It’s comforting when we have secure
and meaningful relationships with the people who are important in our
lives. It’s the same way with God. In uncertain times, it’s comforting to connect
with God and know our relationship is secure.
When the disciples were battling the storm at sea, Jesus was asleep
below. When the disciples awakened
Christ and sought His help, He simply stepped forward on the boat and spoke
“peace, be still”. Stop fighting your
battles alone. Don’t hesitate to pray to
God in trials. Seek Him out and bring
Him to the forefront of your situation.
“Father; help us to maintain our excitement about our Spiritual Journey, to wait strategically for your intervention, and to be able to recognize the
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