Finding God's Path Through Your Trials by Elizabeth George

"Life need not be easy to be joyful. Joy is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of Christ."

This quote by William Vander Hoven opens Elizabeth George's book, Finding God's Path Through Your Trials, and it is with this attitude that she leads us down the trail of facing life's difficulties with a godly perspective.

I purchased (and quickly read) this book a couple of years ago when life wasn't as easy as I thought it should have been. Recently some circumstances of life caused me to revisit the truths found within its pages.

The first truth, and for me perhaps the most difficult, was the reminder that trials and temptations are coming...that there is no escaping them...but how we react to those trials is completely up to us.

"We can be sure trials will hit us. All kinds of experiences will come to us, including negative ones. But when they arrive, says James [James 1:2], we have choices to make. One of those choices is attitude. God allows us the privilege of choosing our attitude. We can be bitter, angry, disgruntled, or depressed. It's up to us. Or we can choose to be women who sigh...and sigh...and sigh in defeat some more. We can slump, scowl, sulk, and complain. But James recommends a better way, a better outlook to choose - indeed, the best way! He shares with us the right choice. He encourages us to decide to have a joyful attitude."

I have been a pouter for as long as I can remember (and my parents can probably remember back even farther). When things don't go the way I think they should, when I am disappointed in a situation or a person, I sigh, I slump, I scowl, and I  even sulk a little. But those reactions simply illustrate how selfish and self-centered I  really am. If my focus were truly where it needed to be, I would be able to respond with joy no matter what was happening around me. Joy because God has chosen to test and grow my faith and confidence in Him in ways I would have never chosen for myself. Elizabeth George quotes Tim Hansel (a man forced to live in pain following an injury to his back) as saying, 

"If we are to have...joy in our lives, we must first discover what it looks like. It is not a feeling, it is a choice. It is not based on circumstances, it is based on attitude. It is free, but it is not cheap. It is the byproduct of a growing relationship with Jesus Christ."

One of the evidences that a trial has grown our relationship with Christ is through the patience it produces in our lives. When we continue to face a problem, instead of running from it or cowering in fear, God is able to grow patience in our lives. Choosing to face a trial with focus and endurance illustrates the depth of our faith. Elizabeth refers to several women of the Bible when saying, 

"They each went on - a true mark of genuine faith and a distinctive feature of a stable woman. They kept on going. The kept on believing. They kept on trusting in God Almighty..."

Many times, like the Israelites trapped between the Red Sea and the pursuing Egyptian army, it is easy to think there is no possible escape route and that God has led you to your own destruction. At that point following God sometimes means doing the unthinkable, like stepping out where the path is unseen. However, as Elizabeth says, 

"Stepping into the water of this trial is the right choice because it's God choice and His plan for my life. He wants me to move forward and onward to the other side and go on. He wants me to trust Him and to grow. And what is on the other side of the stream? Of the trial? Victory. Growth. Maturity. Strength. Experience. Staying power. A greater contribution to God's purposes and His people."

Responding to our trials with joy and a patient endurance shows others (and sometimes ourselves) that our strength is not found in our own power but in God. 

"God gives as much of His marvelous grace as you require. He gives it abundantly...God's grace will be all you need, will be what you need, will be as much as you need, will be complete."

Sometimes, no matter how much we may know otherwise, we (and by "we" I mean "me") are determined to handle our problems on our own, thinking that our strength...physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually...is required to solve the problem. In reality, it is not our strength that God requires, but our weakness.

"God contributes all the strength while we so easily and constantly contribute weakness as we face our trials and His plan for our lives. It takes our weakness to become aware of our need for His strength. And it is our weakness that shows His strength in us!" 

I have always been better able to deal with events and difficulties that I expected and could plan for and often have the worst response to problems that I did not anticipate. But, in reality, I should never be surprised at the arrival of a trial...I should always be prepared for what God brings my way. Knowing that trials are coming should encourage our faithfulness because Christ is the source of our strength. Maintaining a positive attitude and allowing true joy to be seen in us in the midst of our troubles shows others that Christ is the source of our confidence. Looking to the future with peace in our hearts proves that Christ is the source of our hope.

Even Now * Ever After by Karen Kingsbury

...This is actually a re-read but you can never read a Karen Kingsbury book too often...

A teenager discovers she is pregnant. Two sets of parents separate a couple determined to marry. A young girl grows up without either her father or mother.

The most difficult of circumstances tempered by the realization that without faith there can be no reconciliation.

...have I mentioned that I love Karen Kingsbury?

A Borrowed Lent

This the first (and probably only) time I have written about a book before I have read it. I am not really writing about the book, though, more about why I am going to be reading it.

Despite currently being a member of a non-denominational church, I have attended Baptist churches my entire life. As a Baptist, celebrating Lent is something we did not do. I don't remember how old I was when the practice was first brought to my attention, but I do remember wondering what chocolate, or caffeine, or pop (that's "soda" for you Southerners) had to do with Easter.

This past Christmas, I was given a renewed interest in the Advent, not in the traditional practices but in the setting a part of each day to focus on the upcoming holiday and why it is celebrated. So, when I read an article by Nancy Leigh DeMoss about using the Lenten season to set aside time to prepare for Easter, I thought it was an interesting idea.

This weekend I was away at a conference and spent some time at Barnes & Noble (What could possibly be more fun?). While browsing the shelves, I came across this book by John Piper. (You can actually download the book from his website.)

So, for the next fifty days...which will take me right to Easter...I will be borrowing the practice of Lent, and tweaking it a little, by reading "...fifty reasons. Not fifty causes, but fifty purposes - in answer to the most important question that each of us must face: What did God achieve for sinners in sending his Son to die?"

Decision Points by George W. Bush

I start writing this knowing I can never do justice to what the book contains. For me the lines that best summarize the book, and the presidency of George W. Bush, are those following...

"Freedom is not an American value; it is a universal value. Freedom cannot be imposed; it must be chosen. And when people are given a choice, they choose freedom."

Like the Karl Rove autobiography, one of the things I most appreciated in reading this book was the complete openness in what he had to say. Love him or hate him, experiencing the events of those life-altering eight years from the perspective of the man making the decisions helps the reader to understand them in fresh way.

I truly believe that President Bush was motivated in his decision making by the ideal of freedom. He strove to protect it here in the United States and believed that its absence in other parts of the world was a threat to America. It was tyranny and oppression that allowed the growth and spread of terrorism and the best way to fight tyranny and oppression is with liberty.

President Bush was not a perfect man or a perfect president. He made mistakes. He owns his mistakes. To me, this is one of the things that makes him a good man. Despite what many in the media attempted to portray, he always acted with a sense of vision and purpose. He refused to act until issues had a sense of clarity. He did what thought was best for the nation. You may agree with him or disagree with him, but I find it  difficult to doubt his sincerity.

I could write so much more, but if you are going to spend time reading....you might as well just read the book!

Amy Carmichael: Rescuer of Precious Gems by Janet & Geoff Benge

One of the books we previously studied in our Sunday School class spent a lot of time looking at women who have made an impact for Christ in the world. It was great to read how these women sacrificed and worked to change the world, so when I came across some biographies at a discount bookstore in Ohio I decided to share them with the girls. For the past few months we have taken 10-15 minutes of each class to read through the biography of Amy Carmichael.

In today's self-centered world the idea of someone walking away from everything they have ever known to move around the globe and work with children that others literally do not want to touch is a foreign one. Recently, we have been studying imperialism at school. Frequently in the study of history, Christians are seen in a negative light because the spread of "European civility" and sharing ones faith in Christ are linked together by historians. In reality it was often Christians like Amy Carmichael who worked to make life better for those suffering, those everyone else overlooked.

A Young Woman's Call to Prayer by Elizabeth George

This is the book the girls in my Sunday School class have chosen for their next study. They arrived last Sunday and I can never leave a new book alone, so I brought a copy home to preview. This will be the fourth book we travel through together...and the one that, by far, intimidates me the most.

Early in the book Elizabeth (I know it is proper form to refer to authors by their last name, but by the time you finish a devotional you typically feel as though you know the author on a more personal level, and it just seems awkward.) includes the quote, "He who has learned how to pray has learned the greatest secret of a holy and happy life." As a teacher professionally, I always feel as if I need to "be the expert" in my content before presenting it to my students (not that I always, if ever, succeed). How intimidating is it to think I have to explain this "secret" of a life of holiness and happiness?

I was able to find reassurance in the statement that "no one prays enough...no one prays as passionately as she would like to pray or should pray...no one prays for as many people as need to be prayed for." So, maybe, I am not alone in my feelings of inadequacy when it comes to prayer...and, maybe, like one of my students said this week, in the act of education sometimes the students can teach the teacher.

I do know I can't wait to get started because I happen to have the most amazing class of girls. I know we will all leave this study purposing to answer God's call to us to pray, purposing to to hide away with Him in prayer, and with changed lives.

Courage and Consequence by Karl Rove

I love politics and political theory. I love history and the stories of our national past. It is always a unique experience, though, to read about the events of your lifetime from those who were there. I know Karl Rove is a controversial character, I know I am more conservative in my politics than many (perhaps even more so than Mr. Rove himself), but I would encourage even his staunchest critics to take the time to read his book.

Reading about the events that made Karl Rove from his own perspective rather than that of a news commentator adds a depth to his character and personality that is normally missing.

One of my favorite parts of reading Rove's account of so many political events of the past ten years was to find archived video and watch what he was discussing. It brought many forgotten moments from the past to life.