When Turmoil Reigns in Trials, part 2

When Turmoil Reigns in Trials—what to do? (Part 2)

From Part 1:

During times like these, when a trial of illness strikes widely and the future seems uncertain, especially when that trial is made worse by the inability of the local church to gather together to worship in song and in the Word, and to mutually support one another in the spirit of true Christian Fellowship, inner peace seems to flee and turmoil begins to reign as fears take over. 

Questions are often asked in one’s mind. Will I be ‘ok’? What will I do? 

Thoughts race. I don’t like feeling scared. I fear what the future holds.

Tears flow.

Paul gives us a 3-step approach to be able to live with the uncertainty of the future during the trials in life. His 3-step approach may not specifically answer all of the questions, but they address the thoughts and emotions that produce fear, worry, and sadness. His 3-step approach produces faith and trust and a focus on God instead of a focus on the trial.

So, what are these 3-steps?

The passage with his 3-step plan to defeat the turmoil of trials is Philippians 4:4-9.

Step 1—REJOICE: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!”

[Much more is written in the original BlogPost that contains Step 1. Please be sure to read it.]

Now, let’s move on to the second step in verses 6-7 that Paul provides in Philippians chapter 4 . . . 

Step 2—Pray with Thanksgiving: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

Paul’s second instruction is to pray with thanksgiving. Do we see a pattern? It’s not just pray.  It’s pray with thanksgiving—and, this follows right on the heels of rejoicing in verse 4 (see the Step 1 Blog Post). Do you think that there is a connection between rejoicing and thanksgiving? I do.

Paul makes an implicit connection between rejoicing and thanksgiving. 

Prayer serves two primary purposes in the life of the Christian—and Paul brings both of them out here:

Prayer is not intended to twist God’s arm so that He says “uncle” and gives us what we want.

Prayer is primarily intended to change us! In prayer we express our devotion to God (here, in the form of “thanksgiving”) and, also, our dependence upon God (here, in the form of “supplications”).

Prayer should be our ‘goto’ action, our predetermined path during times of trial, especially if the turmoil of the trial and the fear that it produces begin to overwhelm us. God wants to hear your prayers. He wants you to cry out to Him.

However, when we pray, let us remember to not just voice our “supplications,” but also our “thanksgivings.”

It is vitally important that we pray with thanksgiving. Why? 

First, because God’s Word says that we should in these verses. There is no substitute for obedience to God's Word—we rob ourselves of blessings when we don't do what God tells us to do.

Second, because prayer without thanksgiving can become very similar to just voicing our fears to another person—we only focus on what is troubling us.  However, prayer with thanksgiving, causes us to focus on the God Who answers prayer; it anticipates an answer from God—and, this gives us hope.

Third, because Paul makes clear that only when we make requests with thanksgiving will something remarkable happen.  It won’t happen with just supplications. It only happens when thanksgivings are included with our prayer requests (“supplications”). What is that remarkable thing that happens when we sincerely rejoice and thank God while we are making our requests known?  In verse 7, Paul clearly states what that is: “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

I can personally testify that this is true. I was once falsely accused and faced life-changing consequences. I had made some drastic life changes and made some extreme financial sacrifices, and now all that looked like it was for nothing in the face of the false accusations. I had given up so much. Was it all for nothing? 

I prayed to God to help me in that time of trial, to bring Himself glory by displaying for all to see a Christ-like character in the midst of that trial. I wanted to shine for Him more than anything else—no matter what those false charges would bring about. I even thanked Him for the trial that I was facing. At the very moment that I finished praying, something happened that I had never experienced before, even after many years of walking with Christ and serving my Lord. God proved His Word to be true—a supernatural peace and calm descended upon me. It was clearly of God because my response to each false accusation as it was brought forth was not anger. Instead, by God's grace, I prayed for my accuser and I prayed again that God would be glorified in my response. God even gave me a chance to comfort my accuser, when he broke down in the middle of his lies! The men acting as my judge, jury, and executioner were similaryly convicted by the Holy Spirit of Truth. God is good. His peace allowed me to focus my thoughts and give a ready reply that brought Him glory and honored my Lord. I never could have done it without His peace that surpasses all comprehension that guarded my heart and my mind, and I never would have experienced that peace had I not prayed with sincere thanksgiving. All the glory goes to Him for the rejection of those false charges and a favorable decision for me. All the glory goes to Him for empowering me to honor my Lord during a trial and to bring Him glory.

My brothers and sisters at Grace Gospel Church, He wants to give you this same peace that I experienced in the midst of a trial, as well. Just pray to Him with true, heart-felt thanksgiving, rejoicing in His salvation, and He will bless you more than you could have ever imagined. He will answer your prayers regarding the deepest most important needs of your soul. He will give you a peace that surpasses all comprehension; that peace will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus your Lord.

One last point for you to ponder: Paul told us in Step-1 to “rejoice in the Lord.” I’d like to suggest that we can only do that if we experience “the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension.” And, we can only experience that “peace” that enables us to “rejoice”, if we pray with thanksgiving.

pray with thanksgiving ==> unimaginable peace ==> rejoicing in the Lord 

This is just Step2 of Paul the apostle’s 3-step approach. Step 3 will follow in a future devotional later today, with more devotions to follow tomorrow and in the coming days until we can meet again.

Again, if you have any concerns or needs during this time of trial, please don’t hesitate to contact the pastoral staff of Grace Gospel Church. If you don’t have one of their phone numbers, just phone the church office and they can give you Paul’s cell phone. If you haven’t yet received a pastoral phone call from Fred or Paul or Trey, you should receive one if you have left your phone number with Grace Gospel Church.

Be sure to reach out to Jon DuPonte and thank him for providing the motivation to post these devotionals.