trials.

I said in my last post that God was working a lot in my life lately. Well at that point I didn’t know how much a lot was. I mean God is WORKING and Satan is ATTACKING! Like wow. I honestly don’t even have words to describe it other than a roller coaster of emotions.
But I am learning that God is so good, and He is fighting this battle for me and in fact He already won when He sent His son Jesus to die for me. While God has revealed more than I could ever imagine in the last couple of weeks and I don’t know that I’d ever be able to write it all for you, I would like to share some of what He has been teaching me. Maybe you’re in a battle yourself and need this just as much as I needed it.

*Disclaimer: I wrote this post a couple of weeks ago. My situation has become much better (thank you Jesus) but these truths still hold even on the days that are good. 

1.       Satan is real. One of the girls in a bible study I am apart of asked if Satan was a human. Our leader explained that he was not a human, but he is present. She hit the nail on the head. She said that as you grow in your faith you will start to realize exactly when Satan is present and when he is working against you. Well I’m here to say that he is working against me at this very moment. He is PRESENT! I’ve been pushed to a breaking point this past week and the only thing I’ve known to do is turn that worship music up louder and tell Satan to get behind me. John 8:44 says You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murder from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. This verse really hit me. It showed me just how ruthless Satan is. He will lie to you about anything and everything. He has made me question so many things in my life. He has poured out lie after lie into my head. He has made me question God’s word and what it says and has tried to use it against me. He is terrible and awful and all the things. But I have seen that God’s word is truth. I was finishing Lysa Terkerst’s book, “It’s Not Supposed to be this Way”, last week and one of the last chapters lays out common lies that we get from Satan. She then uses truths from God’s word to push those lies out of her life. I’m learning that for every lie Satan tells us, God is telling us the opposite. Sometimes we just need to dig a little in His word to find His truth. God is fighting this battle for me and I need only to be still. Psalm 46 lays this out so beautifully of how God is almighty. He is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. No amount of bad decisions could ever separate you from His love. So, don’t let Satan lie to you and say you are not worthy of God’s grace. You are. He is fighting for you. We can have peace knowing that God is intervening for us. (Also, if you haven’t read It’s Not Supposed to be this Way…. You should. It WILL change your life.)

2.       James 1:2-3 has been my favorite verse for a while now. I like it because it explains that there is reasoning behind the troubles that we face. God allows us to face these troubles in order to produce perseverance in us. Sometimes when I’m in times of trouble or trial, I like to push these verses to the back of my mind. Ok. Everytime. Because if I’m being honest, I don’t want to go through a trial. I want life to be roses and daises all the time. And it seems as if the older I get the harder the trials are. My pastor mentioned this verse James 1:2-3 a few Sundays ago. His whole sermon was on having faith in the fire. He spoke about how sometimes we go through trials because God is helping us to grow in our relationship with Him. We as Christians need to grow. There is always room for improvement. God knows this and He will sometimes allow Satan to work on in our lives so that we can look to God. When the pastor read James 1:2-3, I was reminded of this. Growing can be hard sometimes. Have confidence that you will make it through the trial if you look to God and that your faith will be stronger because you persevered.  

3.       I’ve listed to Hillsong Worship’s live album “People” probably 30 times in the last three days. I am not exaggerating. My friend recommended I go listen to the song Highlands and now I’m recommending you go listen to it. Y’all. We must praise God when we are on the mountaintops AND in the valleys. That’s hard. That’s hard when life is not going the way I planned it. That’s hard when my failures are being put on display for all to see. That’s hard when I’m begging God to take it all away. But He is good. He is good even when life is not. No where in the bible did it say life would be easy. In fact, it says it would be hard. 1 Peter 4:12 tells us not to be surprised when we suffer for Christ. I believe the closer we get to God the harder life will be because Satan hates the simple fact that we love Jesus. But even when it gets hard, we have a God that is still there ready to catch us in the valley, and so He deserves the praise.

So I will praise You on the mountain
And I will praise You when the mountain's in my way
You're the summit where my feet are
So I will praise You in the valleys all the same
No less God within the shadows
No less faithful when the night leads me astray
You're the heaven where my heart is
In the highlands and the heartache all the same

There is a sweet lady that I my grandparents go to church with. I won’t go into too much detail but there are countless trails that she faces every single day. My grandparents and I marvel at her often. Through every single trial she has never lost her faith in Jesus. I don’t know that if I were in her shoes that I would still be going to church, singing praises to God, and sending the cutest homemade birthday cards to people of our community in order to show God’s love. But what a testimony. She is proving to Satan that he has not won. God has won. And He deserves all the praise. Hebrews 13:8 says Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Just like the song says, He is faithful in the highlands and in the heartache. So, lift your hands and your voices and declare your praises to God in the highlands as well as in the valleys.

If you’ve been struggling lately, know that I am right there with you. Life may look great on the outside, but I know that there are things we are all struggling with on the inside. Don’t give up and don’t give in to Satan. Keep looking to Jesus. He is faithful and will take you through to the end.

Happy Tuesday friends.

M.A.