Life’s Trials
Life’s Trials
2/16/26
I was thinking about writing a weekly blog to get this website up and running with content to share. Apparently, God was in line with this, as the subject of trials reared its head two weeks ago.
When we open our eyes, we have no inkling of the challenges we will face that day. A couple weeks ago as I was getting ready for church several “challenges” presented themselves.
I went into the bathroom and turned the knob on the shower, only to have no water running from the shower head. It was 6 degrees outside and apparently the contractors who renovated our bathroom in the fall didn’t insulate the pipes as requested. At any rate, that shower was now out of order due to frozen pipes.
As I left to head to our other bathroom, little did I know there was another surprise waiting for me. We recently had internet service run to our house, and I was testing out a Wi-Fi extender. The extender was in another room, and I had ethernet cable running across the floor from the router to the extender to see if I had it located in a good spot for coverage. Apparently, one of my dogs thought it would be fun to chew on the cable.
As I stood there thinking about what transpired in a matter of minutes, I realized I had two trails I could choose to follow. The first trail, would have involved anger, self-pity, and a focus that was “earthly.” The second trail is one that isn’t traveled frequently. It’s one of acceptance, gratitude, and looking outside of the situation, and up to God.
As I chose the second trail, it didn’t give me that instant gratification of releasing the frustration that hit me so early in the morning, but it did bring about an attitude adjustment that allowed me to look to God. As I looked to Him, He provided perspective that I lost in that moment and allowed me to respond in a way that wasn’t worldly.
A calm response provides peace, clarity, and a way forward. It not only makes you feel better, but it glorifies God. The first trail keeps you in the problem and tries to catch you up in a whirlwind of anger, self-pity, and defeat. The emotions it evokes are detrimental to you and those around you, as you tend to lash out at them.
In the instance I described above, God reminded me that I am blessed to have another bathroom with a shower that can be used while the other one thaws out (I’m praying the pipe doesn’t burst). The ethernet cable was $10 and easily replaced. I am not making light of $10, especially in today’s economic climate, but it wasn’t something to get “spun up” over and let it ruin my day that just started.
The point I am trying to make is we all face trials of different degrees every day and most are not controlled by us. While we may not have control over the trials we face, we do have control over how we respond. Christians should respond differently to trials, as we have the love of Christ, and He overcame what we couldn’t, death. Since He took our sin, we no longer have to fear death, since those who believe will have eternal life with Him. Satan loves to see us focus on our problems, get spun up in them, and look around and down. Jesus wants us to look up and focus on Him and seek His guidance as we handle the tasks in front of us. Remember, look up for answers, not down!
Blessings to all as we enter another week,
Tom
