The Trials Of Women
by Nita M. Hammersmith
Life can be very difficult. Sometimes during the troublesome periods, we suffer tremendous pain. When we are hurting, we tend to feel that God has left us to fend for ourselves. Our faith begins to weaken. Experiences that test our faith are trials. It’s true that most of us don’t handle trials well. Through prayer, God will help us to get through the temptations, hardships, or sicknesses that occasionally test our faith, patience, and stamina.
James tells us in James 1:2-4 (NIV), "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." In suffering, the last thing that any of us feels is joy --and ‘pure joy’-- well, forget it! Yet, we must realize that pure joy is attainable through Christ Jesus.
Having husbands and children, being married, getting divorced, having jobs, being sick, being depressed, being single, having the empty-nest syndrome, being around hurtful people, and having a host of other problems can all become "pure joy" to us. Let me give an illustration of what I mean with a little story I read. This story helped me to understand why, and how, to feel "pure joy."The Beautiful Teacup
A couple in England passed a china shop that had a lovely teacup displayed in the window. When they went inside to see it more closely, the teacup suddenly spoke. "You don’t understand. I haven’t always been a teacup. There was a time when I was a lump of red clay. My master took me, rolled me, and patted me again and again. I screamed for him to stop, to leave me alone. But, he continued to mold me, answering, ‘Not yet.’"
"Then, I was placed on a wheel and spun around and around. It made me dizzy, spinning on and on like that. But the master didn’t stop when I begged him to take me off the wheel. He continued to shape and to mold me."
"Then, he put me in the oven. I had never felt such intense heat! I wondered if he wanted me to burn up. I screamed and beat on the door to get out. I could see the master through the opening. I read his lips, as he said, ‘Not yet.’"
"Finally, the door did open. The master picked me up and put me on a shelf. I began to cool. That felt better. Suddenly, he brushed me and painted me all over. The fumes were terrible! I thought I would surely choke to death. I was gasping for air and hurting inside from the heat and choking on the fumes."
"Soon, he put me in another oven that was twice as hot as the first one. I knew for sure this time I would surely suffocate. I begged my master to stop. All the time I could see him shaking his head and saying, ‘Not yet.’"
"I felt there was no help. I knew I could never make it. I was ready to give up. Just then, the door opened. The master took me out and I could see that he was pleased with his work. He handed me a mirror and told me to look at myself. I did and said, ‘That’s not me! It couldn’t be! I’m so shiny and beautiful!’"
The master said to me: "I want you to know I had to roll you and pat you to give you shape. If I had left you alone, you would have dried up. I know the wheel made you dizzy and sick, but if I had stopped, you would have crumbled. I know it hurt and was hot and unpleasant in the baking oven, but if I hadn’t put you there, you would have cracked. I know the fumes were bad when I brushed you and painted you all over. But, you see, if I hadn’t done that, you would never have hardened. If I had not put you in the second oven, you would not have survived for very long, for you would have been brittle and would have soon broken. Now you are a finished product. You are what I had in mind when I first began with a lump of clay." ~Anonymous~
Lumps of clay, you see, are what we were, and still are, as Christians. Christ, through the Holy Spirit, has been molding us, rolling us, and patting us to make us acceptable to God. Physical illness may be "patted away" with the help of a doctor. Emotional pain is very difficult to "pat away". Instead it sends us spinning out of control and is so intense that we feel as though we are drowning. We want the pain to be over. It hurts so much, and we think we will never endure it. We need to trust God that in time all this will pass. We need to believe that God loves us. We need to know that He uses our pain to mold us and make us stronger and more Christ-like.
Some of us spin so hard that we become chemically unbalanced and become depressed. Depression is a real physical illness. We shouldn’t feel ashamed to talk to our doctor about it because there are ways that he or she can help us. Remember that through all our trials God is in control of our lives. He gives us tools to help us -- sisters in Christ, Bible classes, and songs that touch our spirit.
God gave us another tool to use while the Holy Spirit is molding and transforming us, and that tool is prayer. When we are in tremendous pain PRAYER is THE most POWERFUL tool God has given us. We must submit to God and get down on our knees and pray for Him to give us answers that will help us through the crises in our lives. Jesus, our Savior and Lord, demonstrated the necessity, urgency, and power of prayer in the garden of Gethsemane. What agony and suffering he bore on the night he was betrayed. It was emotionally painful for Him to know that His betrayer was one of His own. Christ prayed with such intensity that He sweat drops of blood that dripped from His forehead. This is what it took for Him to find peace. This is also how fervently we must pray when we are in pain. Jesus knows our pain, for he cares for us.
Christ prayed to his father an intercessory prayer for us in John 17: 20(NIV) "My
prayer is not for them alone (meaning the apostles). I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me."
We are in a battle. Sometimes the trials that we face are temptations from the Devil. We need prayer to fight him so that we may remain strong. In Ephesians 6:18 (NIV), the Apostle Paul says, "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert, and always keep on praying for all the saints."Prayer will help us through disappointments. Prayer will sustain us through all of our trials. Prayer must be habitual; It is something that we do everyday. Colossians 4:2 (NIV) says, "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." It is a time we set aside just for God.
Some of us still don’t fully believe that God will answer our prayers. Statistics say, that 10% of Christians don’t believe that prayer works. But, if we think about it, we understand that God wouldn’t tell us to pray if he wasn’t going to answer us. Not only does he tell us to pray; it is His will for us to pray. First Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV) says, "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."
When we pray we should ask God for wisdom and understanding. Romans 15:13 (NIV) says, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." He has given us His Holy Spirit: Galatians 5:22 (NIV) say, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."
As Christians we all receive the gift of His Holy Spirit through baptism to help us when we pray and to transform us into His fruit. Part of His fruit is Joy. When we submit to God's molding and trust Him to bring us through our trials we will know that we are experiencing the refining that will make us beautiful. It is then that we can feel joy while being refined. It is then, that we will understand that God is making us beautiful like the beautiful teacup, a finished product molded from our Potter's hand.
Visit Nita's site at www.nitahammersmith.com
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Nita is interested in receiving feedback regarding this article. If you would like to comment, please contact her at nita@christianmirror.com
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