Faith Filled Family Magazine November 2016 | Page 43

In this context, continuing to pray
is paramount. Praying insistently
with expectant hope is vital. Doing this is a reminder to the one
praying, to have patience and
to keep hope at the forefront of
their thoughts. When praying is
mostly abandoned, hope and patience dwindle to an afterthought
and disappointment in God for
not answering their plea for relief from trials and tribulations. If
God answered each prayer upon
request during troubling times
and events, where would the reliance on God be? God would be
relegated to a fixer in the lives of
His people, not the caring and
loving God working steadfastness and endurance in believers
encouraging them to answer His
calling to follow Him into Heaven
with faith and hope.

something negative happens in
life, praising God is the last thing
on their mind with faith and hope
in His promises thrown out the
window as well. Faith and hope
though, is a life time of relationship building with God and the
journey will have its slopes and
cliffs to walk over and overcome.
It can be hard to see the forest
for the trees when caught up in
an unwelcomed situation. As
faith grows, hope grows, and
when these two work in tandem,
giving thanks and praising God
in the worse moments is in the
forefront of thought rather than
becoming a second thought or
forgotten about.

It is difficult to see God in the
moments of dismay. Responding
to what is seen or felt emotionally is the reality at the moment
Faith and Hope in Jesus is the of horrible situations. Chrispinnacle aspect of the Christian tians are supposed to walk by
faith. Without faith and hope in faith and not by sight (2Co 5:7),
Christ, there is no foundation in meaning there needs to be a rethe Christian faith to hold too. liance on God, not the tangible.
Faith and hope provide a means In the moment of a trial, or when
to face and overcome tempta- succumbing to sin, the question
tions and troubles in life. In the of where God is or was can be
face of trials, hope and faith pro- a compulsive idea not easily revide the strength to give thanks- linquished. Dwelling on the abgiving to God, regardless of the sence of God can cause a Chrisebbs and flow in life. The prob- tian to question why God was not
lem with man is that he is a fallen with them, not there to intervene.
creature and doubt in faith and Isaiah 41:10 (KJV) states, “Fear
hope step into situations causing thou not; for I am with thee: be
Christians to question the valid- not dismayed; for I am thy God:
ity of their faith or that of God’s I will strengthen thee; yea, I will
promises. Hebrews 13:8 states help thee; yea, I will uphold thee
Jesus Christ is the same in the with the right hand of my righpast, present, and future. He is teousness.” Knowing God is
never changing in His character present and omnipotent in the
and promises to man. He does situation should bring comfort.
not falter in His ways. He makes In the times of trouble, His righno mistakes. He is all loving and teousness needs to be rememhas infinite love for His children. bered and relied upon. KnowChristians can forget this when ing God will help and provide
faced with the ills of life. When strength is enoug h knowledge

to the Christian to give thanks to
God when confronted with trying events and times. God being God Himself in the lives and
events of the Christian demands
praise and demands thanksgiving for His power and strength,
regardless of.

There seems to be a tendency
to give thanks to God only when
good and positive things happen
to the Christian. Glory and praise
is given for His blessings poured
out upon the receiver. Whereas
praise is given during times of
abundance in the lives of Christians, there is an impregnable silence when the opposite occurs.
When the good happens in life,
it has been heard from believers
and church leaders to give “glory
and praise to God in His blessings.” Though this is paramount
in the relationship with God, He
does not need to be compartmentalized to receive only praise
in the wellness of life. There is
ease in giving praise when the
winds are at the backs of believers. There is uneasiness in giving praise to an all loving God
when a strong head wind and
turbulence is encountered. Tears
stream down the faces of those
in great joy and great sadness,
but they are tears nonetheless.
God is God as well when there
is joy and sadness. He is always
standing with His arms wide
open to receive His children in
both the ups and downs of life.
God celebrates and mourns with
His people, He does not turn His
back nor pushes any of His children to the wayside.
Ephesians 5:20 states to always give thanks for all things to
God in the name of Jesus. This
verse says all things at all times.