SOME POINTS TO PONDER DURING TRYING TIMES

SOME POINTS TO PONDER DURING TRYING TIMES

A certain lady who knew many sorrows and troubles in life was respect by all who knew her as a godly woman who remained happy and cheerful through all she had faced was asked her secret and she replied that she kept joy in her life by keeping her “Pleasure Book.” Her inquirer had to ask, “What is your Pleasure Book?” She answered, “Every day I write down something pleasant that happened.” What a great thing to do with our mind as we go through these trying times.

A certain man was on the verge of a nervous breakdown so he asked his closest friend for some advice. His friend suggested that he make a list of all the people still alive who had blessed his life. Then he recommended that he acknowledge his appreciation by calling or writing them. The ailing man did it. The first person on his list was his favorite teacher. He wrote her and expressed his appreciation for all she had meant to him. Then he wrote his favorite coach, employer, family member, friend, minister, neighbor, physician, etc. Soon to his amazement he began to receive letters. The first was from his teacher, she wrote, “You have brought brightness back into my life!” What a great thing to do with our time as we go through these trying times.

A family lost all that they had in a fire and a friend came to comfort them and offered the following parable. “A tragedy like this is similar to being plunged into boiling water,” he explained. “If you are an egg, your affliction will make you hard-boiled and callused. But, if you are a potato, you will emerge softer and more pliable.” It might sound odd, but perhaps we should all ask God to make us more like potatoes when we go through trying times.

A missionary returned to a village where he had shared the gospel after a revile trip had came and destroyed it by fire. Once there he found the people weeping over the ashes and one of the natives said to him, “They burned everything, even our Bibles and hymnals.” Then in the ruins they saw a small piece of paper that had not been totally destroyed by the fire. He picked it up and read the only words that remained were and they were, “Joy to the world, the Lord has come.”

God has not promised skies always blue and flowered pathways our whole life through.

God has not promised the sun without rain, joy without sorrow, or peace without pain.

God has not promised that we would not know temptation, toil, trouble, or woe.

God has not promised that we shall not bear many a burden and carry many a heavy load.

God has not promised smooth roads, wide, easy to travel, and needing no guide.

God has not promised mountains without steep slopes and rivers without swift currents.

God has not promised many of the things that some advocate but what He has promised we will keep.

“And this is the promise that He has promised us – eternal life.” 1 John 2:25