Confused? - Part 4

 Continued from Part 3.
"A man's steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand his own way?" Prov 20:24  Good question.  Which is why when we don't understand what's going on around us or in us, when we are walking through the valley, parched in the desert, sitting in the mourning booth, stumbling in darkness, enduring unspeakable pain, left completely alone, scorched in the fiery furnace, or worked like clay between the hands of God, faith becomes the most precious thing we have.  It may be the only thing we have. 
 
Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.  If we saw with our eyes what we were hoping for, we wouldn't have to hope for it!  It's believing 100% that the truths from Part 3 are really true because God's Word said so.  It's believing 100% that God's Word is true because we believe 100% in its Author and His character.  Without this faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists exactly as He described Himself and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him with the truth we had hoped for.

So, it's time to get personal.  We can't choose our trials, but we can choose how we will respond to them.  "I bring prosperity and create disaster." Isaiah 45:7  And it's all for our good.  

So.... what do I believe?  
WHAT IF....
What if trials really are Your gifts to me?
What if trials let me know if I'm for real?
What if trials show me who I really am?
What if trials help me experience more of Your nature so I understand You more? 
What if You really do like to color outside the lines?
What if trials prove that You are not a tame lion, but that You are good?
What if trials help me better appreciate all the blessings You have given me?
What if trials help me to better appreciate trials?
What if the harder and longer the trial, the more perseverance and maturity I gain?
What if trials are an opportunity to bring You glory and honor by a faith-filled response?
What if trials are a real-life opportunity to teach others truth?
What if You really do collect all my tears in Your bottle?
What if friends don't last long so we won't depend on them but on You?
What if You sever relationships so that we would take what we learned with us to impact others?
What if satan asked to sift us like wheat?  Did You pray for me so that when I got turned around I would strengthen my brothers?
What if You needed me to meet and invest my time in other people?
What if You wanted me to learn about boundaries?
What if You wanted me to focus on my family more?
What if You taught me that all people feel like little scared children curled up in a corner sometimes?
What if the conflicting voices I heard forced me to seek You for my identity, value, and worth?
What if we all crave unconditional love and acceptance?
What if You wanted me to learn compassion for other people?
What if I need trials to keep me humble?
What if You really do answer my desperate prayers to know You more?  Not with fill-in-the-blank, multiple choice, true/false answers, but with multidimensional essays, scripts, and musicals?
What if You wanted me to know more about how You felt?
What if You really will never forget me, just like I can't forget the deep impression others stamped on my brain?
What if You want me to savor the suffering of being misunderstood and rejected by the people I love so I will share a tiny glimpse of Your suffering from being misunderstood and rejected by the people You love?
What if my confusion causes me to seek You more and my questions draw me closer to You?
What if we get to choose to reject trials, fight against them, and grow hard and bitter?  Or allow our trials to change us, mold us, teach us, and transform us into Your image?
What if trials are the hardest, most glorious, events of our lives?

Dear God, please let me see through Your eyes and the lens of the Gospel.  Pierce the darkness with Your light.  Thank You for trials.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds, because the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so you will be mature and complete, not lacking anything.