April 2020 Articles

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Spiritual Corner: Transformative Trials

Spiritual Corner: Transformative Trials
The world’s a scary place right now. I’d be lying if I said that I haven’t had anxious or fearful thoughts recently. It’s scary to think that you’re doing what you can to protect your family, but that it might not be enough. It’s scary not knowing what might happen. The unknown is always a little scary, though, isn’t it? Trials of life are always a little scary, and sometimes, they’re a lot scary. The one thing we can count on during this time, the one thing that won’t cause us fear or anxiety, the one thing that isn’t unknown, but is very much KNOWN, is God. God doesn’t change and He doesn’t leave us when the world gets extra crazy (Hebrews 13:5). When I’ve felt myself getting too worked up, too worried or anxious, I try to remember to shift my focus to something positive. My mom gave me this helpful piece of advice. She said that we can’t just dwell on the things we can’t control. Not only do I try to shift my focus to something positive, but I also pray. Almost immediately, whenever I’m feeling scared or overwhelmed with what’s going on, I begin to talk to God about it. It may seem easier said than done, but we need to cling to God during this time and simply trust Him to get us through, because He will. We don’t know exactly how everything is going to turn out, but God will take care of us and will bring us through the fire. My devotional book that I’ve been reading talks a lot about trials and the beauty of them. Kind of ironic, right? Trials being beautiful? Yeah, I thought so, too. However, the way my devotional talks about trials and how they are a way that God is refining us specifically for His purpose and how we can only grow closer to Him through them…it makes me almost WANT to experience trials. I know that sounds crazy. Trust me, I don’t enjoy going through bad times or experiencing bad things, however, I enjoy using those complications to strengthen my faith with God. I’ve been very convicted during all of this. Obviously, I’m at home more so I essentially have more time to be reading my Bible, praying, studying, worshipping, etc. I haven’t been doing this like I should though and I think about that often. I believe that God may be bringing good from this situation through the way that He gives time for His children to turn to Him and reconnect with Him. My devotional talked one day about how we shouldn’t just exist during hard times and trust God, but we should REJOICE during hard times. That can be tough, but can you imagine the feeling? It’s somewhat surreal. Picture it…the world is scary and chaotic all around us…we don’t know what’s going to happen…and yet, we’re in our kitchen singing love songs to our LORD at the top of our lungs. We’re sitting on the porch, meditating on how very THANKFUL we are for this time in our lives. It sounds crazy, but hear me out. Whenever you flip the script and start THANKING God for your trials, start worshipping Him even more during the hard times, start living your life rejoicing during the good and the bad…it is a very powerful thing. It changes you and your faith and it is something that draws others to you and to your God. I’m still working on this concept—the rejoicing during the hard times. I’m working on laying my anxiety at God’s feet daily and simply trusting Him and being JOYFUL during the chaos. I’m not there yet, but I can already tell how transformative it is. I was put through a trial with the scary birth of my son, Rebel, and I doubted and worried and broke down. Now, every new trial I encounter, I can’t help but think that it’s another opportunity to simply trust God through it, without doubting or worrying. I’m still not there yet, but I know that God is using these trials to continue to refine my faith and make me more like Him. Trials are tough, but they’re a pretty good tradeoff if it means that we’re being molded more and more into His radiant image. --Dana Alexander