I hate to suffer. Don’t you? It’s the worst. But the Bible says “Consider it all JOY my brethren, when you encounter various trials, because the testing of your faith produces endurance” James 1:2-3.
Have you ever considered suffering to be joy?
When you lose or fail, do you think of it as a positive thing? James says you should. Usually we get so caught up in feeling hurt or angry that we do not stop and think it through. So stop.
Stop and remind yourself that God will use this challenge to teach you endurance. He will increase your faith. Every negative has positives attached. And transforming your attitude from despair and hurt to thankfulness and faith and trust is a HUGE win. It not only makes you feel better, but getting over the negative emotions and choosing positive emotions will actually make you more successful. We see this in sports every day: when losers choose a winning attitude, they become winners.
Here are more strategies for dealing with hurt:
1. Consider your problem (also translated as “think of it” or “reckon it”) to be joy, not sorrow. Write this one down in the win column. Or in accounting terms, call the problem a credit, not a debit. Think positive and be grateful.
2. Review and quote verses about struggles: Romans 8:28 says “we KNOW God causes all things to work together for good…” Remember that—and choose to believe it.
(By the way, you have to CHOOSE faith. You may not FEEL convinced, but you CHOOSE to trust God. So choose to believe that God will bring good from the struggle, and talk to God about it. Believe it, trust Him, thank Him, and you will begin to feel so much better.)
3. “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing and in EVERYTHING give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.
4. Remember that you WIN. You are on the winning team. “In all these things we OVERWHELMINGLY CONQUER, through Him who loves us” Romans 8:37. You win. We win. Don’t get discouraged—God has a plan, God will provide, and we will win!
Hard times, trials, problems, adversity—there are many names for it. But it is one of the constants of life. Jesus even promised us hard times (did you know that?). He says “in this world, you WILL have trouble, but take courage for I have overcome the world” John 16:33. We will have trouble, sometimes every day, sometimes incredibly difficult. But “in all these things we OVERWHELMINGLY conquer,” through Him. And remember—no matter how bad things get, Jesus promises, “I am with you always,” (Matthew 28:20) and “I will not leave you as orphans, but I will come to you,” John 14:18.
So what do you do? You prepare for trouble. If we know problems are coming, we need to plan and prepare. Begin by learning these verses. Memorize them. I’m serious. If you want to handle the struggles and disasters life has for you, you must memorize the Word of God. When I began growing in my faith, the first thing I did was memorize verses about adversity. And what a huge help those verses have been!
Write down the verses above and start learning them. Then you will find yourself quickly becoming so much stronger in your faith.
Pray. Dear Jesus, thank you for being honest with us and promising us that trouble will come. Help me learn the Word so it can encourage me when I am down. Help me care enough to jot a few verses down and practice them in the car or something. Help me always to trust you, no matter how difficult the storms may be. Thank you that you are always with me, taking care of me. Help me to love you and to love your Word!
ΑΩ
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