As I sit in my kitchen watching the rain outside, two questions are in my thoughts:
(1) Why do I find myself wanting to know something that God doesn't want me to know ... namely, WHY is this happening to me?
(2) When I get frustrated with not understanding WHY something is happening in my life, am I really saying by my actions that the Potter (God) does not have power over the clay (me)?
So, I decided to take a page from the book of David, the sweet Psalmist. I note that in Psalm 42 and Psalm 43, David speaks to his soul about being cast down and he encouraged his soul to hope in God.
So, on this rainy Saturday afternoon, I started to speak to my own soul like this: O my soul, there is always Divine Wisdom and Love behind every trial you experience. YOU CAN BE SURE O SOUL THAT God has a limit for every trial in my life,
Remember O my soul, the trials of Joseph and Job? Joseph and Job were two of the finest men of the day and do you recall their trials? So, understand this my soul, TRIALS DO NOT NECESSARILY MEAN DISCIPLINE for as I study the Word of God, I see that in God's economy, the greater the trial, the more outstanding the saint in the eyes of God.
O soul, hear what Matthew 11:6 says: "Blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in Me." Or, in other words, the person who trusts God in the dark will be blessed. For when I have the light and I am able to see clearly, what need do I have for trust? So, God can only build and develop my trust in Him in the dark trenches of my life, when it seems as if there is no hope, and yet I keep clinging to God's unchanging hand as my only life line.
Finally O soul, learn this so that you do not have to come this way again: YOU ARE NOT WHAT YOU THINK YOU ARE, BUT WHAT YOU THINK, YOU ARE. I know that as soon my soul FULLY grasp by actions what this means I can expect a direct correlation with the length/limit of my testing period!
Know this O my soul, it is impossible to please God without faith and it is impossible to trust God without faith. This is true both in the spiritual and in the physical realm.
Jesus said: "According to my faith, it will be done unto me" Matthew 9:29. So, the fruits I reap in my life are a product of the seeds I sow in my thoughts. O soul, be very careful of not disciplining your thoughts! I need to bring my thoughts into obedience with what and who God says I am. It is only then that God will be pleased that I have passed the test and I can graduate from that test because I have mastered dealing with doubts and fears and because no matter what the circumstance, I choose to believe God first and not my circumstances.
