What a strange winter we have had in Southern California! We already have surpassed the yearly average for rain with only two and a half months gone. A week ago, with parents running a little late to pick up their children after the afternoon session of lessons, I started my truck, put the heat on high and let the kids sit inside until the parents arrived. A week later, the temperature was so warm that all the kids were clad in shorts and T-shirts.
God created the world and He created us, and neither is in a period of stasis. If you think of the ups and downs in the weather around the world, it will give you a bigger picture into the life of a believer. Though we think that the extreme changes will not occur once we come to the Lord, the truth is, we tend to go through more hardship once we become Christians. The difference occurs, though, in how we handle those hardships.
Do you remember to praise God when things are going well, or are you so busy riding the tide of happiness that you forget to take the time to thank Him? On the opposite side of the spectrum, do you praise Him when things are going badly? I think our tendencies are to handle both of those in the wrong way, unfortunately. We forget to be thankful for the ease of passage and at the same time, we rarely praise Him when difficulties are in our pathways! Paul is one of the greatest examples of exemplary behavior in dire circumstances. He was shipwrecked, beaten and imprisoned, yet he never lost sight of God’s plan. Here’s an example from when he was falsely imprisoned in Philippi:
25 But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. 27 And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. 28 But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.”
29 Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34 Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.
Acts 16:25-34
God’s plan was to use Paul and Silas to bring other believers into that saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, and the Lord used Paul’s joy in the midst of trouble to demonstrate that inner peace, the peace that passes understanding. When we fail to praise the Lord when our lives seem to be difficult, we are acting as if God has lied to us. He has told us that He will use all things for our benefit and for His glory. When we fail to acknowledge His hand on the entirety of our lives, we certainly are not trusting in Him. Just as temperatures rise and fall, so do our lives. Yet we know that God’s hand remains upon us, through the easiest of circumstances and through the most difficult. Step out in faith today and praise Him for the most difficult aspect of your life!
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