HANDLING LIFE’S DIFFICULTIES 2

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)

This is a very powerful verse for every single person who has fallen into a trial or will be anytime in the near future. The condition is we must love God. In other words, it is for those who have established a good personal relationship with Him.
If you are walking in a full surrender with the Lord and have established a very good personal relationship with Him, then expect God to eventually work out all things for the best, no matter how bad and how hopeless some things may appear to you. The story of Job is one such example of how things turned out for him at the end of the trial.
When you are in the middle of some of these fiery trials, sometimes you can't see far ahead. This is when you have to totally trust God to work everything out in His time frame and in His way. And when you look back on everything at a later date, you will then be able to see how God eventually worked out everything for good.

God Is With You During the Trial
No matter how long the trials God will be with you from the very beginning of the trial to the very end of it. He will be by your side no matter what goes down and no matter how ugly things may get from time to time, through thick and thin..
If your trial is going to have any considerable length to it, these verses will help you stay the course to the very end of it.
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me." (Psalm 23:4)
"Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, until these calamities have passed by." (Psalm 57:1)
"The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You." (Psalm 9:9)
God will also be our refuge as we bide our time waiting for the trial to end.

Waiting on the Lord
There may be times that the only thing left for us to do after we have done all is to simply wait for it to end.
"The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord." (Lamentations 3:25)
"For evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more ..." (Psalm 37:9)
You may start the trial up with tears and mourning, but eventually you will end up reaping joy in the morning if you hold fast to the Lord and wait for His deliverance.
God Will Eventually Deliver You
If you are thrown into any type of waiting mode with the Lord while going through a trial, the one thing you will have to hang onto is that the Lord can and will eventually deliver you if you continue to put all of your faith and trust in Him to do so - and hold that faith and trust in Him to the very end of the trial.
"For with God nothing is impossible." (Luke 1:37)
Absolutely nothing is too impossible for God to deal with or handle - no matter how grave, no matter how hopeless and no matter how severe your present set of circumstances may be.

Suffering for Christ
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? “ (Romans 8:35)
Each of us should develop the mindset that if Jesus Himself was willing to come down to our earth to undergo the most extreme and brutal form of physical punishment known to mankind at the time - we should also be willing to do the same thing for Him if the call or need ever dictates that we face a certain amount of difficulties.
"…. rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy ... Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter ... therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator." (1 Peter 4:12,16,19)
Sometimes we will suffer as a result of the will of God, and when it does happen, we are not to be ashamed of it. We should continue to try and do good with our lives and stay fully committed and loyal to the Lord - no matter how trying and severe the trial or tribulation may become.
"Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution." (2 Timothy 3:12)
God wants to make us holy. He wants to transform us into the express image of His Son Jesus Christ. He wants to set us apart unto Himself.
He is the Potter and we are the clay. He wants to mould, shape and transform us into godly, righteous and holy saints. But this shaping, moulding and transformation process can be a very painful process at times. And at times, a certain amount of adversity and conflict is what God will use to help transform us.
All of the suffering we may have to undergo in this life will never compare with the glory that God has in store for all of us on the other side!

Thru’ The Valley
What God wanted us to realise is that victory comes thru’ the valleys. Valley life can lead to victorious life when biblical principles are applied. God says to every valley dwellers, “Trust me.” Today’s valley is tomorrow’s victory. Phillipians 4:4.
Perhaps you are in the valley today. Your mind is racing with questions of uncertainties. You are not sure which way to turn. Say a prayer to thank God and Praise Him, for doctors, radiologist, equipment, new hope, directions, etc. The Valley of uncertainties is sometimes more severe. A cancer patient undergoing therapy may have throats burn, inability to salivate, swallow…But regardless of the depth or width of the valley, all valleys provide the child of God the opportunity of bringing the most glory to God. It is in the valleys that growth takes place, mountain tops are often barren. Mountain top experience is good but valley is where we grow. The valleys deepen our root of faith.

Lessening the Load
We can call on several strategies to lessen the load. Here are a few effective steps:

• Learn from trials and suffering. They can help us learn new skills. Jesus Christ learned by His difficult circumstances and experiences (Hebrews 5:8), and so can we.
• Count your blessings. When we focus on pain, we often forget how good life has been to us. Paul said we should always be thankful (Philippians 4:6). He also explained that the result of giving thanks is a "peace which surpasses all understanding" (verse 7).
• Don't be a prisoner of your suffering. Severe trials can cause emotional paralysis. We need to remain active because inactivity further devastates morale. Look for activities that will fully absorb you, either mentally or physically.
• Find someone with whom you can share your load. Many people undergoing severe trials make the mistake of trying to handle them alone. Without question, those who reach out to others in times of need benefit from doing so. We need human contact. "Two are better than one ... But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up" (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10).
• Break the trial into bite-sized bits. When your difficulty or workload is daunting, divide it into manageable chores.
• Take life one day at a time. People battling depression, emotional struggles and difficulties in general often share a self-defeating mind-set. Their emotions tell them their trial will never end. In such times we need an attitude that realizes that this trial, too, shall pass-as most difficulties indeed do. Adopt the psalmist's perspective: "This is the day which the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24), in spite of our difficulties.
• Don't be frustrated by trifling issues. Learn to put minor problems behind you and make decisions of lesser importance with a minimum of stress and worry.
• Eat a balanced, nourishing diet. Our bodies and minds are much less able to deal with stress and other difficulties if we do not provide them with the nutrients they need.
• Exercise regularly. Proper exercise relieves stress, provides a feeling of well-being and helps us sleep better-all of which are important for our contentment and mental stability.
• Provide yourself regular rest and relaxation. God provided a rest day every week. We also need relaxing time on a daily basis.
• Make a change. We cannot avoid some distressful situations. To opt out of them would be wrong. But don't be a glutton for punishment. If you can escape a trial without being irresponsible, take steps to do so (see Proverbs 22:3).
• Develop your sense of humor. A cheerful heart is good medicine (Proverbs 17:22, NIV). Humor helps us rise above stresses. Laughter truly is effective medicine.
• Realize that ultimately all things are in God's able hands. Jesus points us to God: "Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit" (Luke 23:46). David urges us to "commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him ..." (Psalm 37:5).
• Praise God. “Praise the Lord, God is good.” The deeper the valley the greater the amount of glory and praise God gets. Psm 30:5, “Weeping may endure for a night , but joy comes in the morning.” This is what praise does, it sets prisoners free, free of uncertainties, free of fear, fear of the future.
• Be Still. When bad things happen, we have a tendency to get emotional. That's okay; God gave us emotions for a reason. It's okay to feel angry, sad, disappointed, or whatever other emotions crop up. Just realize it isn't a good time to react while your emotions are on overdrive. When you react out of your emotions you will usually end up attempting to do things in your own strength, which is exactly the opposite of how things work in the Kingdom of God. The bible says in Psalm 37:7 to "Cease striving and know" that He is God. Let your emotions run their course, but don't act based on how you feel.

Conclusion

Suffering of any kind, whether it be mental, emotional or physical, is not something that most people would easily gravitate towards.
We simply have to develop the mindset that we have to learn how to become good, brave and courageous soldiers of Jesus Christ.
All of the above Scripture verses are as plain and as clear as day. They give us perfect knowledge and perfect revelation as to why things are the way they are, and why every one of us will have to fight and engage with a certain amount of storm clouds in this life before we can finally depart to be with our Lord and Savior for the rest of all eternity.
And until that day comes, put on the whole armor of our God - and take on your enemies, your trials and your tribulations as a good and mighty soldier of Jesus Christ.