“Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer…” Romans 12:12.
How often do you become discontent and angry with the things God providentially sends into your life? Discontentment is one of the Christian’s greatest sins and it’s displayed in our complaining and murmuring against the providence of God. “Why have you done this to me?” or “God must not love me – look what He’s doing to my life!” That’s the way many Christian’s talk when tribulation comes upon them. How often have you complained against God about all the problems in your life?
Our greatest testimony to the unbelieving world should be our patience in tribulation. Remember Job? God sent tribulation upon him that most of us will never have to bear. In one day, he lost 500 oxen, 500 donkeys, 3,000 camels, 7,000 sheep, 7 sons, 3 daughters and many servants, but Scripture testifies that Job accepted it patiently without murmuring or complaining. Job 1:20-21: “Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD.”
Would you respond this way to these devastating events? If you were to go home and find all of your blessings from God have been stolen or destroyed would you fall down and worship God or would you curse Him? Our calling as believers is to patiently bear the tribulation God sends upon us, submit our will to God’s will, and faithfully pray to the Lord … “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” That’s how Jesus responded when he faced the greatest tribulation of all … eternal damnation! He said, “Father, take this cup from me; nevertheless not My will but Thy will be done.” If there’s no other way to redeem sinners except by suffering eternal wrath on the cross then “Thy will be done!” Jesus came to do His Father’s will.
What about you? Do you truly pray to the Father, “Thy will be done”? Would you pray, “Thy will be done” if you knew God’s will for you included persecution, sickness, cancer or death? What would you say to the Lord if He said of you what he said of the Apostle Paul in Acts 9:16: “I must show him how many things he must suffer for my name sake.” Would you then say, “Lord, your will be done?” Most believers pray the Lord’s Prayer every Sunday, but do we mean what we pray or are we just going through the motions? Sitting and pouting or murmuring and complaining about the things God sends upon us in this life is NOT being patient in tribulation. Rather, patience in tribulation is demonstrated by praying, “Father, Thy will be done.” Ask the Lord this day to give you a greater measure of endurance in order that you might glorify Him in the midst of all the trials, tribulation and difficulties that our sovereign, loving, merciful, gracious, just, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God sends into your life. Take time and meditate on the truth of God’s governance of this universe … from the hairs of your head to the vast expanse of the universe. In this way, you will learn to be patient in tribulation, thankful in prosperity, and will diligently trust the Lord for what is future.