Praise Him for Your Pain!

James  1:2  reads, ..count it all joy when you fall into various trials.  In this life things will happen, it's inevitable and there is NO way of getting around it.  All of the great men and women of the Bible faced trials, I mean even The Great I Am himself faced an ultimate unjust trial when he done nothing wrong, so the trials will come.

Now I'm not knocking anyone's theology or beliefs, but I hear song after song, quote after quote, where people say that it's only test that you're going through and that's true because these trials are tests of your strength, faith, and character but people hinge on the belief that these tests come exclusively from God!  My question is that since God knows you and created you why would he feel the need to test you?  What does God need us to prove by testing us.  God knows that we will fail, he knows we will continually sin and that is why He is our God.  That is why he sent His Son to pay the ultimate sacrifice for us because he knew that we would continually fall short of His glory.

Instead of feeling like God is playing with you, learn to count it all joy.  When David was going through, he encouraged himself, when Job lost everything but his right mind he desired a response from God, but he still kept his faith, repented and found his joy.  Hannah was barren and ridiculed in the temple, at church! But she still counted it all joy.  This goes on and on.

So you see where I'm going here?  You have to learn to praise him through the pain.  Learn to rejoice through the questions, doubts, and fears that will flood your mind.  If anybody is testing you it's really that rascal devil because he wants you to blame God and switch sides!  The mothers of the church sings, "Nobody told me the road would be easy, but I don't believe He's brought me this far to leave me.."  And that's just it, why would he create you just to leave you?  If anything when you're enduring life's suprises, trials, and tribulations find joy in it and keep going because guess what?! Weeping may endure for a night but joy WILL come in the morning! -Psalm 30:5.  It may not be the next morning, or the next but joy will come!

So when life takes that turns for the worse or the unexpected, I dare you to go to your secret closet and tell God,    " I'm enduring a setback, but I believe in you to continue to propel me forward.  I know I'm in pain now but you'll convert that to just another testimony.  You're not a man that you should lie so I'm depending on you to allow me to count all my trials joy."

If you learn to count the things that you think will break you as joy, imagine how you're going to praise him when he blesses you with the breakthroughs and earthly successes.  Remember our ultimate goal is heaven and "in my Father's house are many mansions, if not I wouldn't have told you so"-John 14:2  so all the things you're enduring here on Earth is just setting you up for your Mansion, so praise him for your keys!

MTL