Trials bring stress do they not? What is a bump in the road for one individual can prove to be extreemly stressful to someone else dealing with troubling situations.
One thing that strikes me is that for years, I had always thought of the Old and New Testament characters including Moses, Joseph, David, Esther, Paul, Peter, and John, in a different light than I should have. Meaning, I was seeing them as men and women who did not get stressed because they trusted God so much, which leads to the thought, "Since I am stressed, I must not be trusting the Father."
All of these saints of old were like us in the way of stress entering their lives. In David's Psalms, loss of sleep, trepidation, apprehension of the unknown, feelings of discomfort and wanting to be vindicated are all recorded, yet, he trusted God.
I cannot imagine Joseph sleeping soundly at the bottom of the well, or when he was sold into slavery by his brothers, or being in prison for something he did not do.
When Jesus was crucified, all fo the Apostles were fearful and hid.
Paul must have experienced stress in his life while dealing with the immaturity of the different churches. Also, is it reasonable to think that he was distressed for his brothers and sisters in Christ who were being persecuted for the faith? He himself suffered much physical and emotional pain at the hands of many different people. Stress followed throughout his ministry.
There must have been some apprehension in Daniel's life when he was thrown into the lions den.
Esther had great courage, yet, what must she have gone through when she was praying for wisdom, knowing all along that the nation of Isreal was in imminate danger. She could loose her life as well.
All of the above mentioned people were giants in courage and faith. They were not cowards at all. We seem to think, or at least I have, that since they were brave and courageous, they lacked stress, fear and apprehension. Bravery and courage come from a firm faith and action that goes beyond the fear that is present.
Satan wants God's children to feel weak and useless to the Kingdom of God because of our fear, stress and apprehension. Prayerfully, we who find ourselves in this situation will understand that when we come to the Father and confess to him our fear, stress and apprehension, that he will take us where we are and lead us by the Holy Spirit into the experience of courage, bravery and yes, boldness.
The trials we experience in and of themselves are not the point. How we respond to the trials is what God uses to bring about growth and increased faith and most of all Glory to His name.
When we are able to go to the Father with honesty about our heart's condition then allow the Holy Spirit to teach us to put on the full armor of God, the stress level starts to subside. Giving up our "right" to an outcome that we have already set in our heart is a big factor in trusting our Father.
Realizing fear of the unknown is normal is a freeing experience. God does not shame his children because of anxiety. So why do we manage to condemn oursleves and others for something our Father will never condemn us for? We are weak human beings that have the one and only powerful and awesome God of the universe abiding in our hearts. We do not conquer anything. God does.
In a trial, fear comes and goes. Stress ebbs and flows. Our Father will stay with us always. His peace is sweet. Although a trial may continue for a long period of time, we can rest assured that our Father is working out His will and He will be glorified.
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