God's Loving Sacrifice Podcast
Hello, Do you ever feel defeated as a Christian in the confusing times we are living in today? I know I do. This is were God’s Loving Sacrifice Podcast comes in. We do bible studies to help you strengthen your walk with the Lord in today’s crazy world. We also encourage you to share the gospel and the love of Christ with this world in need.
God's Loving Sacrifice Podcast
Counting It All Joy: Building Resilience and Faith through Trials / S3E18
Ever wondered how to stay joyful even when life throws its toughest challenges your way? Join us as we uncover the profound biblical insights on maintaining joy amidst trials and temptations. Drawing inspiration from the transformative teachings of James 1 and Romans 5, we explore how enduring hardships can actually strengthen your faith, build resilience, and lead to spiritual maturity. Like the refining of metal in fire, these experiences are designed to fortify your spirit. We'll delve into the profound mystery of sharing in Christ's sufferings, and discover how this unique journey grants us confidence in God's purpose, empowering us to face life's adversities with unwavering hope and joy.
In our heartfelt discussion, we illuminate the sacred strength that joy provides, especially when confronted with life's inevitable challenges. With biblical references from Nehemiah and 1 Corinthians, we emphasize joy as a divine shield that can protect and sustain us. Praising God in the midst of trials not only enhances this joy but also strengthens our connection with Christ and serves as a beacon of hope to those around us. We close by encouraging a mindset focused on virtues and praiseworthy things as highlighted in Philippians 4, ensuring that joy remains an ever-present source of strength in every facet of life.
My website is https://www.godslovingsacrifice.com
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Speaker 1:Today we're going to talk about counting it all joy when you're tempted. Last week we talked about all the things that I went through with my computer messing up and didn't know what the problem was and just everything that seemed to happen and looking at how, even though I was going through all that, nothing took my joy. And that's what we are encouraged to do. We're supposed to count it all joy when we face trials and temptations, because all of those things have a purpose in our Christian walk. They build us. James 1, 2 says my brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials. Now, does that mean when we're going through trials we got to be all grins and happy and never cry, never get upset? No, that doesn't mean that. It means that we should not allow the trials of our life to take the joy that Christ has given us. Nothing should take that joy. But why should we count it all joy? Because trials will strengthen your faith. James 1.3 says, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. We have to be patient, we have to learn how to wait on God. And then you look at the fact that trials develop endurance. The more trials you go through, the more trials you can go through, the more trials you have the strength to go through. Romans 5, 3 through 4 says and not only that, we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance and perseverance, character and character, hope. They developed your patience, they develop your endurance. And being able to count it all joy when we go through trials also shows the spiritual maturity that we have. James 1.4 says but let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. When you're perfect and complete, lacking nothing, that shows that you're spiritually mature and the joy does that. No matter what we're going through, we keep God's joy and counting it, joy and tribulations, is God's purpose for us. We know that Romans 8, 28 says and we know that all things work together for the good of them who love the Lord and are called according to his purpose, even in the most difficult times, these trials that we go through, these fires that we go through.
Speaker 1:What happens to metal when it goes through fire? It gets refined, and that's the way we do. It refines our character, it deepens our faith, it makes us stronger and that's what God's purpose for our life is. It's not the trials, it's the fire, it's the refining, it's the strengthening. I love the show.
Speaker 1:Forged in Fire and they can take this metal and get it as hot as they could possibly get it and pound on it, pound on it, put it through everything that you could think this would go through, and then they take this hot, hot piece of metal and stick it into a quenching bath and it makes it strong. And it makes it strong. It's like all the trials that we go through. God pours out His grace over us. It's like that quenching bath and we come out stronger.
Speaker 1:The big thing that going through the trials does for us. It shows that we're sharing in Christ's sufferings, and he said that. He said in 1 Peter 4.13,. It says but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings that when his glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. We don't pretend that trials aren't hard. We're going to cry, we're going to hurt, we're going to need a hug sometimes. But no matter how much in mourning I've been, no matter how depressed I've been, how many things were going on in my life, the one thing that I will not allow anyone to take, because I did it one time in my life I allowed to take somebody to take. No, I didn't. I allowed myself to let go of the joy that God gives me. I refuse to let anything go take away the joy that God gives me. The reason why we can let others know that trials are painful just because we're Christians doesn't mean we don't go through pains and trials, but that we are so confident in God's power and in His purpose, we can face these challenges with hope, with trust and with joy.
Speaker 1:I love a song we used to sing in church and it comes from Philippians 4, 4-9. It says Rejoice in the Lord. Always, again, I say rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things, the things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me. Do these things, and the God of peace will be with you when we go through these trials and we're wondering well, how do I keep my joy going through all this? This is a scripture that tells you. It says finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there's anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things. Meditate on these things.
Speaker 1:We don't meditate on the trials. We don't meditate on how bad we feel, we don't meditate on how hurt we are. We meditate on the things of God. And Romans 15, 13 says Now, may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Count it all joy. Do we have to be depressed? Do we have to walk around like we've got the weight of the world on our shoulders. No, we don't have to. These are choices that we make. I know depression is a terrible thing and I know I've been there and it's very hard to get through. But when you meditate on God, when you lean on God, he will travel that road with you and we shouldn't hide the trials and the tribulations that we go through.
Speaker 1:I don't know how many of you have been watching the series the Chosen, and when little James comes to Jesus in the show and asks him why he wasn't healed, jesus talks about what kind of story he would have by not being healed but still believing in God enough to go out and heal others. And that's the thing we have to show people. Yeah, we go through trials. We get things tough sometimes, we aren't sure which way to turn sometimes, but we still have faith in God, we can still pray. We can still praise. We can still talk to others about Him. The trials, to me, are just annoyances. They have to just be annoyances because God's going to take us through each one of them.
Speaker 1:It says if God is for us, who can be against us? 1 Peter 4, 12-16 says Beloved. Do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as though some strange thing happened to you, but rejoice to the extent that you are partakers of Christ's sufferings, that when his glory is revealed, that you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part he is blasphemed, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer or as a busybody in other people's matters. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. And you know why we can do this this there's one scripture in Nehemiah Nehemiah 8.10, that tells us how we can suffer and get through it and still keep our joy.
Speaker 1:That joy is something very, very special, nehemiah says. Then he said to them go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet. Then he said to them how do you get through trials? By counting it all joy, because that joy is the strength that God gives us. That's why you don't want to lose that joy. That's your strength. Satan hates it when you're joyful and he even may throw more fiery darts at you because he sees that you're joyful. But being joyful, that strength will block those fiery darts that he's throwing at you.
Speaker 1:1 Corinthians 10, 12-17 says Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you, except such as is common to man, but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able. But with the temptation he will also make the way of escape that you may be able to bear it. I know a lot of people use that scripture. God doesn't give us more than what we can bear. God doesn't allow us to be tempted without a way of escape. That's how we bear it, because God gives us an escape. God walks through us.
Speaker 1:Count it all, joy for everything that God does for you. Your joy is your strength. You are partakers in Christ. When we go through trials the thing I do the lower I am, the more I praise God. Our God inhabits the praises of His people and you want to feel joy. Praise Him when you're going through the worst things in the world. Smile and let His joy fill your life. We have to count it all joy. We have to show others that, no matter what comes against us, no matter how hard we are hit, it just grows our faith in Christ. Tell others about this. When you see others in trials, remind them that the joy of the Lord is their strength and he makes a way of escape so that they will be able to bear it.
