I was talking with a pastor this afternoon who sees the dichotomy between those that believe they are Entitled to the good things that our Father provides, but are put off by the trials and tribulations. They see the good things but when the crises come they can’t reconcile that a loving God would allow the challenges to come in their life, that somehow a loving Father wouldn’t allow these challenges. As a result their faith is shaken because they do not understand the tenets of scripture that include the trials and tribulations to other forces or powers, rather than accept the idea that it is the same loving God who provides for and allows both.

For the ever growing list of people I now counsel that are coming to me, through the churches that have been following along my ministry and the blog and book in development, the first issue is always “How could a loving God have allowed … (you can fill in any negative thing you would like here) I thought our Father loved us?” And the answer is always the same, that consciously our Father provides us with both the good and the bad, the times of plenty and the times of want. His goal is for us to become Christ like and that doesn’t happen by chance.

The pastor’s take, and I can see his point, is that during the hay days of great economic times believers and the churches themselves got caught up in the nature of the Good Times for so long that now that economic collapse is occurring and times are getting tougher, that the body of Christ is starting to stress out with what is happening inside the families themselves and the churches in general, that are seeing the financial problems and the effects on both. Clearly, it is driving a higher number of people my way who are stressing out because their heretofore perspective on their relationship with Christ didn’t include these challenges that are just starting to really take whole on the Christian community in general.

Believers shouldn’t be despondent nor suicidal. The issue isn’t that our Father has failed them, only that their understanding of who He is, based on scripture, is lacking.

The focus of my work and ministry, in essence, is in helping to find lost sheep. It deals with the process of how believers in crisis get onto that path and where they find themselves once that walk has begun. From simple questions about their relationship with our Father at the most innocuous beginning, to disbelief, Falling Away, despondency, and suicidal at the worst possible end, as seen from the 300+ believers I’ve counseled with including at New Hope, the Share and Care forum of the Crystal Cathedral church, and my private counseling. It is a clearly defined road, a scale of degrees, that anyone properly situated can identify.

In order to have hope in restoring individuals in crisis, one must begin by understanding the dynamics of disbelief. It is akin to understanding how to heal a broken leg. It isn’t enough to say “well it should just heal” without understanding what causes a break to occur, what has happened at the cellular level that makes a break a break, and what the process is to restore the leg to full function.

Recognizing where a believer is, be it a friend or a congregant, in their life as a Christian, and whether they are being faced with a change in conditions that can potentially put them on the road to disbelief, despair, and possible despondency leading to suicide is what this ministry is all about.

From my experience in Christian crisis counseling, there are two types of trials that can result in failure. Major shocks, and duration trials. Major shocks include losses of family members to death both natural, criminal, and suicide. Job losses, sudden financial collapse, and divorce represent some of the catalysts as well. Duration trials include long term health issues including pain or illness, the inability to find and maintain employment, and family circumstances that can include drug or alcohol use by a spouse or a child.

One phrase I’ve heard repeatedly is that “my world doesn’t make sense anymore. What I’ve believed hasn’t turned out to be true.” This sort of despondent thinking represents the storm clouds on the edge of the front, the deep churning of the mind of the believer in the midst of a spiritual crisis.

For anyone either with friends inside your circle, or those in church leadership such as Pastors and Deacons, being aware of those individuals in those circumstances is critical. Despondency, when it occurs, that can ultimately lead to suicidal thoughts and possible action will arise from these sorts of events.

When our Father unleashes evil against us to try our faith and make it stronger, we always have free will in how we respond, our response is not automatic. We don’t have to respond in a certain way, I do not for one believe in predestination, the notion that everything, including how we react to a situation, is preprogrammed.

When a crisis strikes, at the start most believers who have given their life to Christ will come at the issue strong, their faith supporting their mental and emotional state. Any sort of a minor trial is a good example, from being late to a meeting to getting a tooth ache. Passing these sorts of tests is straight forward, you choose to trust, you say a prayer, and the situation is resolved in a timely manner. 

Where problems arise in the Christian life, however, is when you are hit with a problem greater then you’ve ever seen. A trial so great that you do not know how to respond to it. Where even as you attempt to stand on your belief that Things Will Work Out, they don’t. You attempt to respond with scripture and past events where you have been carried through the dire circumstances but the gap is too big, the degree of faith required too large. And suddenly you find yourself on the side of the road, wondering what has happened.

You see, even in our Father’s most delicate plans for each of us, so carefully laid out, He has His purposes for you in mind constantly.  We however, are human. And when we fail at one of His tests the results can be so destructive that we can risk losing our very soul. It is not our Father’s intention that anyone is lost, but we have within us, the freedom to respond in a multitude of ways. We can be lost forever…

http://trialsandtribulationsinthechristianlife.wordpress.com/

Thomas

In the Old Testament, faithfulness to our Father among the leaders of Israel brought success, wealth, and prosperity, while failure to adhere to the Torah as it was defined, not focusing on the Levitical laws, brought failure. Automatically, from Genesis through the Book of Chronicles the same cause and effect are in play. But all of that changed under the Covenant of Christ, where God no longer talked to His Children through the leadership of the nation, but speaks to us on a personal level.

For us, the relationship is different and our Father’s purpose for us here is too.

For any believer diligently seeking our Father’s will for their life, the Number 1 goal for this life is that you are molded, through various trials and tribulations, into the likeness of Christ. It isn’t about prosperity, a nice shiny red Ferrari will not show up in the garage of the believer who has been molded into the likeness of Christ. Diligently written plans prayed over for any sort of venture are not Blessed for Success as we define it, but rather a means to draw us closer to our Father. Those plans are just as likely to fail as they are to succeed, at least in the way we define success.

What is important, it turns out, is that our Father defines Prosperity in a whole different way and the sooner we as believers learn that, the better. He does, in fact, provide for us, but not necessarily in ways we have any part in.

The success you will gain is in becoming more Christ like and better understanding our place in our Father’s Eternal plan.

It is a sad and terrible outcome when trials and tribulations overwhelm a believer and their faith.

This subject is not for the faint of heart nor faith…

Instead, when we come to our Father in prayer, seeking His help in some circumstance, and nothing changes, the trajectory or direction of events remains the same, that is in fact an answer. At least for this very moment, and we do not know about the future, the answer is that this circumstance that you are in is exactly where He wants you to be.

The issue within the fundamentalist churches that needs to be addressed is not just that people need to have more faith, but that the church needs to better respond to it’s parishioners at life’s critical events, the prayers that are generated as a result, and when the answer is NO at the moment when the prayer is responded to.

Now what are the sorts of things we learn as a result of the tribulations that our Father allows to be unleashed upon us? For sure, these are transformational events, meant to mold us.

Let’s say you have some sort of task where you work that is your primary responsibility and that things are not going well. In fact, things are going terribly. Maybe it is a business relationship with another firm that needs to provide you with a product that your company is paying for, but is unable to deliver.  You know this is a critical moment and a major trial going on in your life. So in the back of your mind you begin praying in earnest for our Father’s help.  “Please help me to deliver on the responsibilities that I have regarding this business relationship” you pray. At this moment, you have all of our Father’s power behind you, you have deliberately sought His will for your life for this particular problem.

And then, what happens? Nothing. For whatever reason, our Father’s will for your life at that moment is that the problem getting this product from the outside firm isn’t resolved, they fail at delivery. His answer is “No, I won’t change the circumstances.”

 And whose Personal Responsibility was it that the situation didn’t work out? Well, it actually isn’t yours. It is our Father’s will and outcome for your life at that moment in those circumstances.  The above scripture releases you from the responsibility for the outcome for no matter what it is you did to try and make the relationship work out, to get the product delivered to you, it was our Father’s will that it fail.

So what is the transformational effect from having gone through this particular trial? That you are silly to set goals for fear that our Father has other plans, and that all you can do is Be There in your life each day and only count on Him for what you need.

Because your personal responsibilities as a believer in Christ, other than to follow diligently after Him, don’t exist. It is HIS will that propels your life forward.

I’ll bet you haven’t heard this message from the pulpit before…

As a general rule, the greater the crisis, the greater the challenge to your faith and how you see your life in relation to our Father. His will is steady in that this transformation must take place.

And it is no great surprise for those of us who diligently seek our Father’s will for their life, that this willingness to open ourselves up to the onslaught springs from His hand alone.