Philippians 1:1-11

God is always working on us, pushing and pulling, prodding and pruning.  Make no mistake, this type of handling hurts.  The different ways God manipulates us to refine our spirits and restore us to His ways is painful.  The challenging situations we find ourselves in so often, are part of our faith growth.  They can be compared to a child’s learning experiences when they must experience physical pain in order to learn acceptable behavior; touching a hot surface, exploring a forbidden attic and so on.

"...he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

(Philippians 1:6b)

I am not going to sugar coat it and tell you that once you get through this time in your life everything will be okay.  That would not be true.  Most likely there are a number of seasons waiting in the wings that are meant to season us more, prepare us for the future. But we are not alone during these times.  Jesus is with us and so is His Holy Spirit.  Crying out to them for help is the best thing to do, opening up God's Word and learning to put on the whole armor of God to fight these earthly battles will defeat the enemy. (Ephesians 6:10-18)

I know that my faith has been made stronger because of the trials in my life.  Do I look forward to the next 'growing of my faith?'  I wish I could emphatically say YES, bring it on.  While that would be dishonest, I know from past experience I will be better for it, stronger and wiser and anticipating the day when God will "carry it on to completion."Read Philippians 1:1-11 here

Listen to Philippians 1:1-11 here