Trials are inevitable. When going through a difficult season, sometimes we feel overwhelmed. The light at the end of the tunnel seems like it is too far away or as if it is nonexistent! People’s words offered to console you may be ineffective or even hurtful. The reality is that it is all going to work out in the end. This is where our faith kicks in. Our trust in God is not our backup plan but must be our strategy all along.
There is a scene in the Wonder Woman Movie that challenges me as a Christian. It depicts the way we think Christianity works, through the “proper channel of our workings” versus what God is actually calling us to do – be His hands and feet! In this scene, [spoiler alert] Wonder Woman is wanting to stop the bad people from going into war and taking down the Americans. However, the American soldiers are all running out of resources, weak, and hiding in the trenches, mostly defeated. On the other end, the others are moving closer into the battlefield, with heavier weaponry and powerful bombs. So the odds of the Americans’ victory is against them. At this moment, Wonder Woman exposes her armor – the belt, shield, breastplate, shoes (Ephesians 6 gear) and goes into direct battle, defeating the opposing people... and to saving the world.
Tough seasons have a way of discouraging us. It tends to shake our faith and when we do not see the end of the trouble times, we want to run back to whatever else is familiar and comfortable. Unsure if unfamiliar is too different from the comfort zone we are used to, we want to go back into the cocoon. Nevertheless, every butterfly knows that the cocoon is only but a season – a season of pressure, ugly, change, and much frustration. To the world, it’s a bad place to be in, you are a bad picture to look at, and even a depressing person to be around. The reality, however is that the butterfly comes out of the cocoon season more beautiful than ever. In the same way, the cocoon seasons we face in life are surely some difficult ones. However, just as in the life of the butterflies, this metamorphosis is necessary to carry out the destinies we are individually called to.
James 1:2-4 states to “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” I do not know about you but this is not my automatic thought process when I come across anything out of my comfort zone. I have a hard time considering it pure joy to face any kind of trials. It takes a lot of being intentional about obeying this scripture to get me into being prayerful about such things. This is something I am constantly working on.
Just the other day, I just asked God why trials keep happening when I did not feel like I deserved any more sorrow or pain in my life. I just gave myself permission not to have it all together for once and just complained! Sometimes that takes a certain level of courage and vulnerability, too. I had come to the end of myself and did not know what else to do… His response was so clear. It is to teach me to trust in Him.
So when I come out on the other end, I will stay humbled. I would have nothing to boast about but in Him. Verse 12 goes on to add that “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” There are certain lessons that life teaches us that forever humbles us. My father-in-law made a statement the other day about how he came to the Lord. He said that “certain memories keep us humble.” At the time, I did not understand what he meant. But over the course of this week, the more I have thought about it, the more I am understanding its depth and intensity.
Romans 5:2-4 mentions that “we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” This means we get to take on our times of trials as an opportunity for growth, change, a challenge to our current nature, it is time for an upgrade in our character! It is time to level up and be encouraged to your new place of position. This may look like getting out of your comfort zone because your new place is a little higher and scarier than your usual place of comfort. Sometimes, we want to hide in the trenches when He is calling us out to the frontlines! As Wonder Women, prepare for battle and take it on from the frontlines! Trenches do not guarantee victory; it is only a temporary hideout for safety.
You see, it is not about the dry seasons, the drought, the tough seasons, or the rough ones. It is not even about the cocoons or the trenches. It is not about the hills or the valleys. It is about who is with us during each of these seasons that keeps us humble. Jesus Christ is our Immanuel, with us in all seasons. Great is His faithfulness to us in each of these seasons – this is the guarantee that we have to keep trusting in Jesus to keep our faith and hope in Him. He is faithful to carry it out beautifully to the very end.
Nice message