“Trials & Discouragement”

Joy shows up not only in happy times but also in times of trial and discouragement. Jesus had Joy while surviving troubles and even flourished in the midst of them.  He told His Followers “Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the son of man sake.   Rejoice in that day and leap for joy” Luke 6:22-23“You received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit In Spite of the severe suffering it brought you” 1 Thessolians 1:6“My Brethren,  count it all joy when you fall into various trials” James 1:2 Paul and Silas were beaten, imprisoned in a Philippine jail yet they were praying and singing hymns to the other prisoners….  What a special joy it is when your back is bleeding and your life is hanging on a thread and you can still give thanks to God…. In our instant gratification culture inconstant Amusement, it’s hard to understand the Suffering The Apostles endured for the sake of the Gospel. We will do anything to avoid trials and tribulations.In an attempt to keep everything uncomfortable from touching us, we missed the very thing God wants to use to lead us to the joy in him. We cannot avoid difficulties but in the midst of our troubles-  there is God it is ever-present love.This doesn’t mean we deny or disguise our feelings,  and it doesn’t mean we can or should shrug off pain or disappointment…   or even feel sorrow. What it means is, we put our trust in God and he opens the door to a joy beyond anything we can know on our own. The joy of knowing we are in his hands forever…..By using the words Rejoice, the apostles were not advocating a spirit of grin and Bare it or act tough like nothing happened. No trace of those attitudes can be found in Christ response to suffering or even in Paul’s.  Nor is there any masochistic hint of enjoying pain.   rejoicing in suffering does not mean that Christian should act happy about tragedy and pain when they feel like crying.   rather the Bible Ames the spotlight on the end result, the productive use God can make of suffering in our lives. To achieve that result however we first meet our commitment of trust in the process of giving him that commitment can be described as rejoicing