I’M SAVED, NOW WHAT? (part-03)

I’M SAVED, NOW WHAT? (part-03)

PROBLEMS
When people are faced with problems, what are some ways they react?
Some reactions could be:
    Surprise – “How did this happen?”
    Anger – “This should have never happened to me!”
    Doubt – “What have I done wrong?”
    Despair/panic – “Now what am I going to do?”
    Fear – “Is there any way for me to get out of this?”
    Worry – “What if there is no way out”
    Run – “I have to get away from this problem”
    Blame others – “This happened as a result of someone else’s actions”
    Rebellion – “I’ve been trying to do right and this happened. I’m
                           going to stop trying to be obedient – it doesn’t make
                           any difference”
    Denial – “This really isn’t happening to me”
    Withdrawal – “I don’t want to be around anyone right now”
    Bitterness – “Trying to be faithful is useless”
    “Why me?” – “This should be someone else’s problem”
    Take it out on others – “It’s your fault that this happened!”
    Seek counseling –“I need help to get through this”
    Cry – “I am at wit’s end”
    Seek God’s help – “Lord, You are the only One Who can
                                       help me through this”.

Look at how James says we should react to trials.
    Consider it pure joy, my brothers,
    whenever you face trials of many kinds, (James 1:2)

Is he saying we should enjoy trials? No, he is talking about joy,
not enjoyment. But what joy can we find in the midst of trials?

Here are some possibilities:
    We can find joy in our relationship with the Lord,
    and our faith in how He will help us through the trial.

    We can find joy in being confident that He will give
    us understanding that everything will work out okay,
    according to His plan.

    We can find joy in knowing that God doesn’t give
    up on us no matter what is going on in our lives.

    We can find joy in the knowledge that God is using this
    to help us with our development of spiritual maturity.

    We can find peace in knowing that joy will come
    in the morning and that this is only a temporary situation.

    We can find joy in knowing that others will be
    helped by the way we respond to our situation.

    We can find joy when we understand that our trial
    will help us to learn more about ourselves, and the
    gifts the Lord has given us.

Paul taught the same concept as James.
    Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have
    peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom
    we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now
    stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only
    so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that
    suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and
    character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God
    has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom
    he has given us. (Romans 5:1-5)

Peter also taught the same thing as James.
    Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his
    great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through
    the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance
    that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who
    through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the
    salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you
    greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to
    suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your
    faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though
    refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise,
    glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have
    not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him
    now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and
    glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the
    salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:3-9)

James, Paul and Peter were all sharing the teachings of Jesus.
    Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people
    insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against
    you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your
    reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets
    who were before you. (Matthew 5:10-12)

The implication from James 1:2 is:
we WILL face trials; not IF, but WHEN.

I don’t believe James is telling us to pretend to be happy when
we face pain, but rather to have a positive outlook by realizing
the benefits that trials can produce in our lives. Tough times
can teach us perseverance. We may never know the depth of
our character until we see how we react under pressure. God
will not leave us alone with our problems; he will stay close
and help us to grow in our faith and to become more spiritually
mature.

We may have questions as to how a trial can become a temptation.
A trial can become a temptation whenever we are tempted to
respond in the wrong way. For instance:
    During a trial we may be tempted to lose our faith that God is in control.

    We may be tempted to become angry at others,
    and/or God when we are facing a trial.

    We may be tempted to try to solve the problems ourselves,
    instead of depending on the Lord to help us through them
    (God loves it when we depend on Him – He desires our
    dependence, not our independence).

    We may be tempted to look for ways to escape our situation
    instead of trying to determine what we should learn from what
    has happened.

    We may be tempted to withdraw from others, including God.

    We may be tempted to blame others for what has happened,
    and fail to realize that the Lord is using the situation to help
    us increase our spiritual maturity.

    Note:
        Our response to the situation is of utmost importance.
        When we respond correctly to our trials, our faith can
        be a witness to those observing how we react to bad times.

We may also wonder how a temptation can become a trial.
We are all tempted in many ways but if we aren’t careful,
we can turn a temptation into a trial. For instance:
    We may want to toy with a temptation to see if we are strong
    enough to run from it. Toying with temptations is never a
    good thing to try. What we thought would be a victory over
    temptation can quickly result in a disappointing defeat.

    Whenever we are tempted, our response may be quick and
    immediate without thinking it through. Snap decisions can
    open the door to unexpected and unfavorable situations.
    We should exercise patience and seek the Lord’s help and
    guidance when we are tempted.

    We may be tempted to justify our actions whenever we make
    wrong decisions. Whenever we feel we have to justify our
    actions, more than likely we are doing something out of the
    will of God. Disobedience can cause us to experience a trial
    from the Lord which was intended to encourage us to realign
    our priorities.

    Whenever we are tempted and are slow to seek the Lord’s
    help in dealing with it, it can evolve into a trial that forces
    us to desperately ask for His help.

    We can suddenly be faced with a trial whenever we allow
    Satan to fool us into believing that our disobedient actions
    are insignificant and permissible.

Some factors that determine if we ‘lean toward faith’,
or we ‘lean toward doubt’ are:
    The strength of our faith at the time of the trial.
    If our faith is weak then we can have all kinds of doubts.
    Doubts about what is right and wrong; doubts about what
    is permissible in the sight of the Lord; doubts about our
    faith; etc. If our faith is strong, then we will have a desire to see
    what we should learn from the circumstances we are experiencing. 
    If we do not have a good knowledge of God and understand His purpose in all things,  
    then difficult situations can cause us to have doubts regarding His love for us.

    Our experience with failure or success in past trials.
    (especially those that are similar to what we are now experiencing).
    When we remember how the Lord was there to help us in the past,
    we will have faith that He will be with us this time as well.

Some factors that can be beneficial when we are experiencing trials:
    We need to keep our mind focused on God’s promises
    and not on what appears to be the impossibility of the situation.

    We shouldn’t rely on our feelings during the situation;
    we should trust in God’s abilities.

    We should make every effort to view the situation from God’s
    perspective. This may not be easy, but it is important. We have
    a limited ability to evaluate and respond to any situation. Our
    response is often based on our feelings, emotions, doubts,
    anxieties, angers, fears and confusion. However, when we look
    at situations from God’s perspective, we have an entirely different
    view of what we are dealing with.

    We should remember how God brought us through previous trials
    and remember how He used those trials to advance our spiritual maturity.

    Whenever Satan whispers lies (such as, “There is no way out”),
    we should choose to listen to the Holy Spirit instead.
    When Satan invades our thoughts, we need to whisper,
    “Help me Holy Spirit, I trust You”.