Suffering

I recently have been dealing with a great bit of work-related stress, and in turn, anxiety.  I turned to God and asked for change in the situation.  What He has given me, though, was the ability to cope with  the situation.  He has shown me that by changing my focus from the problem to Him, He is taking care of the situation.  The main way I have been able to effectively change my focus to Him is by replacing the negative thoughts with praise and worship music.  What an amazing difference!

Today in church, our pastor talked about suffering, and more specifically, how suffering grows patience and makes us better people.  His message re-emphasized so many points that I have been meditating on, and were a great reminder that "all things work together for the good to those who diligently seek Him" (Romans 8:28).  

Here were some of his scriptures:

-James 1:3 "because you know that that testing of your faith produces perseverance."

-Romans 5:3 "Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance."

-James 5:11 "As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered.  You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally has brought about.  The Lord is full of compassion and mercy."

Some of our goals as Christians should be:  patience, maturity, confidence, faithfulness, and peace.  Tough times produce great people.  Our pastor said that whenever a hard time comes to you, let your response be "Thank God that He can trust me with this particular situation/suffering."

He brought up 2 more great verses to meditate on:

-1 Peter 4:1  "Therefore, since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin."

-James 5:10  "Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord."

Russ finished up by giving us, as Christians, some actions to embrace:

-Building (spiritual) muscles

-Forgiveness

-Endurance

This was such a great reminder to me to stay strong, and to keep a positive attitude.  I love my church! :)