Finding wisdom in any circumstance

Have you ever encountered a situation where you just didn't know what to do next or how to get out of something you fell into?

The first thing you need is this.....

You need to know that it is not God's will for you to suffer. Many people think that somehow their suffering is because the Lord is trying to teach them something. Sometimes people think that God is allowing the situation for some mysterious reason, so that they can get closer to God.

Whatever the situation is, or the suffering you are experiencing, God is not in heaven getting pleasure out of your battles and times of suffering.

In the book of James 5:13 it says, "Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.

I'm sure that many of you who are reading this post will agree with me that prayer is a way in which we receive answers to things we are needing change in. Prayer is also a way in which we receive strategies to overcome things. In the scripture quoted above, James the leader of the Jerusalem church, encouraged those who were suffering to pray. If it was God's will for a person to suffer or He gets some kind of pleasure out of it, why would He encourage us to pray about it. When we pray about an area in which we are suffering, we position ourselves to receive strategies, answers, comfort and the power to change the situation.

One of the numerous examples I can give you from the bible, is the story of Paul and Silas in Acts 16:23-30 where they had been thrown into jail because of something that they had done which was right in the sight of the Lord, but not in the sight of man. In the story they found themselves down in a dark dungeon with their feet fastened in the stocks, with a bunch of magistrates who wanted to see the end of them.

The first thing the bible says they did was turn their eyes towards heaven and to pray and also sing hymns to God. For some of you who think the singing of hymns is over, I have news for you....
I'm sure they decided to press in and continue with this. The singing of hymns and prayer, positions us in the realm of faith and to enable us to receive something from the Lord.

If you read on, it was around midnight that they were suddenly visited by a God-earthquake. This earthquake came and shook the prison foundations, opened every door and loosed everyone's chains. This was not really a natural earthquake, but one which was sent by the Lord Himself, in response to His servants' prayers and worship, with the purpose of setting them free and changing their situation from suffering to victory.

I believe that there is a kind of suffering that we can never avoid. These are what I call, "The sufferings of Christ" or "The fellowship of His sufferings". These sufferings are when we identify with Christ and His Kingdom though righteousness which causes the enemy to rise up against us through people. Persecution, ridicule, rejection, slander and the like, are all a part of the "Fellowship of His sufferings".

Sickness, fear, pain, defeat, poverty and depression are not, I repeat, not the "Fellowship of His sufferings". These are things that Jesus paid the full price for at the time of His crucifixion. When he was whipped to pieces, this dealt with sickness, pain and infermity - see Isaiah 53:4 onwards.

Receiving wisdom in any situation or circumstance, is a part of being a child of God. We don't grow because of a situation or circumstance. We grow because of how we react to that situation or circumstance. We don't learn how to suffer more in the situation, we learn how to endure and overcome the temptation to quit during that time.

Trials and tests come from two different places.

A trial comes from the enemy, and tests come from God.

The trying of our faith is where the enemy is putting pressure on us to quit believing the Lord and give up on His deliverance.

God tests our hearts through His word. His word is the mirror we look into when we need our heart's attitude sorted out. Going through suffering is not how God changes our attitude, but how we change our response to that circumstance.

God has laid out His methods and way in which He wants us to serve Him in His word. We are meant to live in constant communion and fellowship with Him, in order for us to know what to do next in any situation or circumstance.

The way in which we receive the strategies and answers for the suffering or circumstance we find ourselves in, is to position ourselves firstly in what we believe about the Lord. We must believe that He is good, all the time.

Next, we must believe that He is more than willing to give us the answers to the problem or a strategy to get us out or thourgh a situation.

Then we must pray, expecting to receive those answers, and then they will come.

If there is anyone our there who is suffering, your job is to position yourself through prayer and worship. Once positioned, you will be in a place to receive your answer or strategy.

This answer may even be a conviction about sin. It may be a word from God which will indicate something which you are required to do, in order for your situation to change. It could be anything.

Hope this is of some help to someone out there.

Blessings to you all,

Rory