In the book of Romans 8:31-32, the Apostle Paul writes,<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all\u2014how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?\u201d<\/p>\n
Truer words have not been spoken. God is for us.\u00a0 He is the one on whom we can rely.\u00a0 He is the one to whom we should ask for help.\u00a0 Sometimes we make the mistake of relying on people, instead of on God.\u00a0 Unfortunately, no matter how much our friends and family love us, they are human.\u00a0 They are fallible.\u00a0 They will make mistakes.\u00a0 They will say and do things that hurt us, either intentionally or unintentionally.\u00a0 And they won\u2019t always be there when we need their help.\u00a0 But God is always for us.\u00a0 No matter who is against us, no matter what challenge we face, God is for us.<\/p>\n
The amazing thing is that when we do have challenges, God ultimately can use them for our benefit, if we do our part<\/em>.\u00a0 What is our part?\u00a0 Our part is to try to practice the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23)) at all times.<\/p>\n Admittedly, it is hard to practice the fruit of the Spirit when we are under stress. When faced with a problem, we may not feel very peaceful.\u00a0 Our instinct may be to feel frustrated and blame others.\u00a0 Or we may be hopeless instead faithful.\u00a0 Or we may succumb to the temptation to complain instead of counting our blessings.\u00a0 As a result, when faced with a challenge, we need to ask God for help to keep a good attitude.\u00a0 If we do so, not only will He refine our character, but He also eventually will use our setbacks for our benefit.<\/p>\n When dealing with problems, we also need to exhibit another quality \u2013 patience. So often we want God to solve our problems NOW.\u00a0 For instance, I am facing an issue this morning.\u00a0 I\u2019ve prayed about it, and I keep hoping (even expecting) that God will present me with a solution by lunchtime.\u00a0 Yes, I\u2019m not even willing to give God 24 hours.\u00a0 That sounds silly, doesn\u2019t it?\u00a0 And it is also immature.\u00a0 Yet, we do that all the time.\u00a0 We expect immediate solutions to our problems.\u00a0 But our ways are not God\u2019s ways.\u00a0 He will work things out for our good, but it will be on His timeline.\u00a0 In the meantime, we must do our part by keeping a positive attitude and waiting patiently<\/em> in faith.<\/em><\/p>\n When we wait in faith, we know that eventually God will turn our greatest problems into our greatest assets. As we wait, it is important that we stay on the right path.\u00a0 We have to cast our cares to God and keep doing the right thing, even when our problems seem insurmountable.\u00a0 By staying on the right path, we pave the way for God to do great things in our lives.<\/p>\n Staying on God\u2019s path as He leads us through a challenge may involve sacrifice. For instance, we may have to give up certain things if we are facing financial difficulties.\u00a0 Or we may have to end a relationship if it is unhealthy.\u00a0 We even may have to change our lifestyle if we\u2019ve developed habits that aren\u2019t working to our benefit.\u00a0 But when we eliminate negative things in our life, be assured that God will fill those gaps with something far better.<\/p>\n None of us goes through this life without facing challenges. But know this: God is for us.\u00a0 He is a creative God who can turn even the most difficult problem into something good for us, if only we will let him.\u00a0 We simply have to walk His path and wait in faith.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In the book of Romans 8:31-32, the Apostle Paul writes, \u201cWhat, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all\u2014how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":593,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n