Growing up, my mother wasn’t a fun person. She often saw the negative side of life rather than the positive side of life. I have learned to see life this way since I was a young child. My upbringing has made it more difficult for me to see life positively. But when I came to know Christ at the age of 18, I read the nature of God, the way God likes to give us good gifts, and how pleased he is with his children. When I read about God’s love, it became easier to hope for God. As I matured, I was able to explain why I felt joy when I went through tough situations. But that wasn’t easy. Here is how I learned to give reasons for hope that I have:
I clung to God’s Word
The most important thing I did when things got tough was to cling to God’s Word. In the early days of Christianity, it was easy to get mad at God when you felt that life wasn’t going your own way. Therefore, I avoided being involved with him, such as praying or reading the Bible. But as I have matured over the years, I have realized that God’s Word and prayer is the only way I wish for. Even when I feel like life is crumbling around me, I believe God will tell me when I read the words. Not being able to read the same Bible passages several times will never fail. The next time I read, God speaks something directly to my heart. This is because his words speak to his living environment. The Bible does not address every particular situation in life, but we can apply some of the basic concepts and ideas to every situation in our life. This gives me hope that God knows my situation, as God is not new to him. And he knows how to fix it.
I will throw my care to God
1 Peter 5:7 says, “I will cast all your anxiety on him because he cares about you.” This is not an easy task. It’s easy to want to carry the burden on yourself. But part of my intimate relationship with God means I have to trust in Him and give him all my fears. One of the exercises I attended was writing down everything that was heavy on my heart. We were supposed to write them on paper to dissolve them. We then placed the paper in a large body of water, took a wooden spoon and stirred it up until the paper was completely dissolved. The ink on the paper dissolved in water and then slowly disappeared. It was a symbolic gesture of allowing myself to throw my heart to God. I’ve been in this exercise before. I recall those examples of what I gave to God. It’s amazing to see what God did to all that was caring for me a few years ago. God spoke and was moved in each of those circumstances. When we cast our hearts on the Lord, he is faithful to take care of them and act on our behalf. But we have to let him. When we choose to carry the burden ourselves, we lack trust in God. Trusting in God is one of the essential essences of spiritual life. If it’s difficult for me to trust God, that’s because I want to control and make things my way. But when I hand it over to God and succumb to his will, I believe that his will is the best for me.
I was living a life of repentance
Not only is it important for us to confess our sins regularly, but there is nothing to prevent us from hearing or speaking from God, but we also have to live our lives of repentance. It is one thing to habitually confess our sins, but we must continue. We don’t do anything to confess this, but sin no longer puts a burden on us, but it is important, as we live a repentant life to change our behavior. This goes beyond a simple accountability partner. While being accountable is a good thing in our lives, it is easy to choose people who know that we are suffering from the same sin or that we know that we will continue to act and not blame us. But when I live a life of repentance, I can repent of the actions and brainstorm the ways in which I can change my life. Therefore, when the situation gets tough, I would like to see myself not be blamed for poor behavior, but that God will turn the trial around.
I put my faith in Jesus
There are examples throughout the Bible of Scriptures of those who had to put faith in God. It was not merely a verbal declaration, but rather a life that succumbed to God’s will. For example, the simple act of Jesus asking his disciples to chase him and then dropping the net was enormous. The disciples were comfortable in their work and were part of a family business. Their family trained them throughout their lives to take over their careers. But Jesus shook their lives by asking them to follow him without planning or understanding. He simply asked them to follow him. Most of the disciples faced martialism and persecution because of their faith. Faith is more than simply attending churches or reading words. Rather, it is a staircase life taken in faith to trust God is there. We must not only trust God, but we must act in a way that demonstrates our faith. This is the best way to show that we are an example of the people around us.
I was in harmony with my spirit
God speaks to us in countless ways. He speaks through his spirits, dreams, angels, words, other people, and through his spirits. But it would be hard to hear from him if he was not in harmony with what God is telling us. When God speaks to me about a particular situation in my life, I want to know that He understands and sees what I am going through. I am not alone, and I know I can put my trust in him. Listening to God not only raises my faith, but also allows me to trust that what he is doing will adapt to a Christlike character. It may be difficult to allow God to put me on trial or trial, but I understand that I have hope, but I have to go through difficult situations to raise that hope. Hope places my faith in God I have never seen before, but I know that he exists through His Spirit.
Life is difficult. Whether there is hope or not, it is difficult. But hope makes life easier, as even on our darkest days, we can believe things will change for the better. This verse is difficult to live, but we are all called to give reasons for the hope we have. Everyone experiences the challenges of life. Whether we are Christians or non-Christians, we all face trial. But it is our reactions and reactions to those trials that demonstrate God’s power in our lives. Rather than showing anger, res, or bitterness, we show the fruit of the spirit during trials, not just the other believers, but also the world in which God truly is in our lives.
Photo credit: ©GetTyimage/Daniela Jovanovska-Hristovska
Michel S. Lazrek is the wife and mother of an award-winning author, speaker, pastor. She is a literary agent for Wordwise Media Services and host of the Spritual Reset Podcast. Her new children’s book Hall of Fame encourages children to understand that God can trust. When not working, she enjoys sipping Starbucks lattes, gathering memorabilia from the 80s, and spending time with her family and crazy dogs. For more information, please visit her website www.michellelazurek.com.
