After expressing my thoughts of "God is supposed to be enough, but He's not", my difficulty of finding a pattern to get into the Word of God again, and feeling like I have put distance (relationally) between God and I, I received the following email from a friend today:
'Consider it all joy...when you encounter various trials.' James 1:2
James writes: 'Consider it all joy...when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance...that you may be perfect and complete' (vv. 2-4 NAS). Peter writes: '...don't be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you' (1 Peter 4:12 NLT). Trials are the common thread that unites us. When you get through with one, chances are there's another one coming up the road. That's why James didn't say, 'if,' but 'when you encounter...trials.' Observe: 1) Trials come in various categories. They're physical, emotional, financial, and relational; it's not a one-size-fits-all deal. Some are shocking, like the unexpected loss of a loved one; others are more drawn out, like an acrimonious divorce or a prolonged illness. Some play out in public while others take place in your own private hell. Some are due to your own, or other people's mistakes; others have nothing whatsoever to do with human shortcomings. 2) Trials test our faith. They bring us back to basics and remind us where our priorities should lie. One Bible teacher says, 'During...intense trials I go back to...what I really believe...elementals such as prayer and dependence...getting quiet and waiting on God. Trials...force us back to the bedrock of faith upon which our foundation rests, and this becomes a refining and necessary process.' 3) Trials mature us. When we're suffering there's a tendency to try to look for the quick way out. Don't do that. Trials are designed to make us 'complete.' By letting them do their work, you end up stronger.
I don't know if this was my friend's "Word of the Day" email that she got today, or if she had it saved from another day, but it was the perfect email for me to receive. Even if I have not been in the Word, my thoughts have not changed that it is important, vital even. Even when I have struggled with feeling like God is not enough, I have not questioned His character. As I was taking my break at work, I realized that it's not that God is not enough. He is enough. But like I said, I had been distancing myself (unwillingly, yet knowingly). It has felt like He is not enough because I have not been really with Him. Once I came to that realization, I came to another one (relating to the above email). These thoughts I've been having, these struggles/trials, have been getting more intense lately. I believe it is because I am making steps towards my dream (see previous post). If I can keep this in mind, perhaps it will give me the strength to draw closer to God and to fight through the trials.
