Each of us get the same opportunity to handle life's problems and difficult circumstances that come our way. Sometimes we encounter troubles and trials that seem to drag on forever (despite our desperate prayers for relief). When life throws a curve ball that we weren't prepared for, sometimes our first reaction is to say, "God, how could you allow this to happen to me? "Why is this taking so long? Why aren't You helping me? Don't you care?"
I want to say this upfront: God is not the source of our trials,
He is our deliverer and He works with our faith and obedience. The bible says in James 1:2-3, "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. I used to struggle with that verse because I thought it meant that I should be joyful in every trial in my life, when in essence it meant that I should 'count it all joy' while going through the trial. During the trial, we can choose to keep our heart and attitude right, purposing to keep it void of bitterness, anger and hatred. God will give us the wisdom we need to walk through every trial that comes our way, if we ask Him. We need to give God something to work with by staying in faith and making sure our behavior matches our believing. How does God expect us to handle difficult situations? First of all, every one of us is still learning. No one has arrived yet. We need to take wisdom from Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego's experience when they went through a time of trouble like none other. They were literally thrown into a raging fire simply for refusing to worship a king's idol. But they knew what to do. They lifted up their faith shield and quenched all the fiery darts of the devil. (Ephesians 6:16). They not only survived the fire, they came out of it unharmed. (Daniel 3:27) Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego didn't compromise. They had confidence that God would fulfill His promises to them no matter how much trouble the devil brought their way.
They walked by faith and not by sight. They knew their God!
This kind of result didn't come simply because they wanted it to. They had to back up their decision with action. They knew that their faith in God was so powerful it would move the mountain that they were facing. Mark 11:23 says, "For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he saith." What if we began speaking to our mountains by saying: "No you don't devil, you're not stealing from my bank account, you're not destroying my health, you're not destroying my marriage, GET OUT IN THE NAME OF JESUS!
The bible says, submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee!
