God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling. John 11:14-15
You are probably having the best time of your life right now.
Your family is great, business is booming, you are growing spiritually, and things are fantastic!
Or maybe that is the person you were yesterday, last week or last month.
Everything was great, but something happened, and it changed everything.
The battle is intense, you feel like giving up. Blessings are beginning to feel like curses. Your prayers seem to be hitting the roof.
Well, we all go through good and bad times in life. Challenges are part of this fallen world. We can never run away from them.
The truth is we will not feel the same way in good and bad times. There will be moments when you will go through pain and disappointment.
But there will also be times when things will be great, and you will be on fire for God.
You just have to learn how to have a good relationship with God at all times.
So, are you committed to God in good and bad times or you only love him when things are good and don’t want anything to do with him when things are bad?
Or you may be the kind of person who is faithful when things are difficult, but when they are great, you forget about God and live independently of him.
To be honest, we have all lived independently of God at some point.
There have been times when we spent more time in the word of God and prayer. We have attended church regularly and lived according to the word.
But there have also been moments when our prayer life has gone down, we have missed church a couple of times, not because we were sick but because we chose to.
But that is not the way it should be, right?
God loves us, he gave his only son for us that we may have eternal life, and that means he has our best interests at heart even when we don’t understand.
Circumstances should not define your relationship with God; your circumstances should be defined by the God you serve. Here is why;
Circumstances Change
No matter how long it takes, whatever you are going through will come to an end. The pain and difficulties you are facing will not last forever.
Even if our circumstances don’t change in this world, we are promised a great future in heaven where there is no pain or sorrow.
Look beyond this world, just like great men and women of faith in the Bible did.
God is the Answer
God has answers to all the challenges we are going through. Walking away from him may seem to be the right thing to do now, but it is not. He knows what you are going through.
When you run to him instead of away from him, he will reveal to you great and marvelous things about the situation.
Going to the world for solutions may seem like the best thing to do, but you will only get temporary solutions.
Run to God even if you have done something that is not pleasing to him. Don’t be like Adam and Eve who tried hiding from God.
You will keep rotating around the same Mountain
The children of Israel were in the wilderness for forty years. It was supposed to be an eleven days journey, imagine that!
Focusing on your circumstances instead of God will cause you to go through the same experience over and over. Some challenges are tests from God. He loves us so much and wants the best for us. That is why he allows us to go through different things to refine us.
Do not prolong your test by coming up with your own solutions. Trust God, lean on him and allow him to lead you even when it hurts.
How do we prevent circumstances from affecting our relationship with God?
Stand firm in the word of God
Circumstances change, but God word never changes. Whatever God has promised, he will do it. Your part is to stand firm in his word and let it guide you through the good and the bad times.
Now, the enemy is going to do all things possible to make you focus on the circumstances because he doesn’t want you to overcome whatever you are going through.
The good news is, you have been given authority over him, and you need to exercise it. Believe what God says about you and fight from a point of victory.
Look for scriptures that relate to your circumstance and stand firm in them. Do not focus on what is happening around you focus on the word of God.
Imitate Jesus
Jesus went through different challenges when he was here on earth. He was rejected, mocked, abused, betrayed, denied, and eventually killed. But he did not let what he went through to change his relationship with God and purpose.
Jesus knew his father loved him, and he was secure in that love. Even when he was feeling weak, he turned to God for strength.
We should turn to God in good and bad times. We should trust him and know that he loves us no matter what.
His love is unconditional, he has great plans for all of us, he knows what we are going through, and he will never disappoint us.
The enemy wants you to stop looking at God and start looking at yourself but, be like Jesus, focus on God.
You will fail yourself, and people will fail you too. Find out what he is saying about you and stand on that promise. See yourself for who you are, and that is the person you are in Christ.
We will go through different challenges in this world. But we should not allow problems to define how we act, treat others, and ourselves.
Most of all, we should not let circumstances define our relationship with God.
God loves us. He is always there to guide us.
