Overcoming Trials with Divine Guidance

SPEAKER 02 : 0:01

Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Friday, August 15th. The Apostle Paul faced countless obstacles in his ministry, persecution, hardships, even prison. But through it all, he learned how to draw strength from God. In today’s episode, discover how his example can inspire you to find courage and stand firm in the face of life’s trials.

SPEAKER 01 : 0:25

When you face some difficulty, hardship or trial, maybe some crisis in your life, what is the first emotion that you feel? Is it fear or is it courage? And how is it that you and I can respond in a courageous way every single time? Does that mean that you’ll never have any fears, any doubts, or frustrations? No. But there is a way that you and I can respond courageously. We can respond in faith, no matter what the circumstance, no matter how painful, no matter how difficult, no matter how embarrassing, there is a way to respond in a courageous fashion. And the Apostle Paul gives us the key to that when he writes to Timothy in 2 Timothy, if you’ll turn there. He says, No one supported me, but all deserted me. May it not be counted against them, but the Lord stood with me and strengthened me in order that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished and that all the Gentiles may hear. And I was delivered out of the lion’s mouth. The Lord will deliver me from every evil deed and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. What I’d like to do is to give you, out of this passage of Scripture, four simple points. And I want to encourage you to write them down because I can assure you you’re going to need them. I can assure you that there’ll be enough trials, difficulty, hardship, pain, suffering, crisis in your life that you’ll wish you remembered this very, very simple but profound truth in this particular passage. Listen to what Paul says, beginning now in verse 16. He says, they all deserted me, but listen to this. He says, the Lord stood with me. Now, if you took that word stood and examined it, here’s what you’d find. It will mean oftentimes that something was placed at his disposal. God made himself, listen, available to Paul at that moment. He was there to help him. He was there to serve him. He was there to undergird him. He was there to overshadow him. He was there, listen, to support him. He says, but the Lord stood with me. I believe probably if there’s only one, it could only be one, the most important thing I need to know, the most important thing I need to feel, the most important thing I need to sense in any difficulty, hardship, trial, suffering, or temptation is that my God is with me. He is with me. I need to know that more than I need to know anything else in life. Others may desert you. Others may fall over the wayside. Others may leave you in a very difficult, trying, painful time in your life. But one thing for certain, we have a God who is with us no matter what. It doesn’t make any difference who we are. When you and I are serving the living God, we are walking in the way of our Lord. Whether you serve the Lord full-time or whether you serve Him in your church, in some area, whatever it might be, you and I are always walking in the presence of God. But listen, the capacity to claim that faithfully Feel that. Sense that. Enjoy that. Live in that. Draw from that. Work out of that. That is the issue. Are you able to sense that presence? Or do you find yourself so overwhelmed by the difficulty, by the mountain that you’re facing, by the hardship, by the pain? And there are times when you and I can sense pain so deeply, so intently, so cutting that It’s like it sort of thrashes us on the inside, shatters us on the inside. Sometimes that pain is such that I understand that it’s difficult to get our eyes and our mind off the pain and off the hurt onto the living God who is the healer and who’s the one who’s going to protect us in that pain. But we can. it is a matter of claiming what is ours and you and i listen we have the privilege we have the awesome privilege and responsibility and power to claim for ourselves everything we need in those moments of difficulty and hardship and pain so here’s what he said he said in those moments he says when i was to defend myself they all deserted me they all left me he says but the lord stood with me Now, I don’t know about you, but I imagine that every single one of us could probably go back at some difficult point in our life and say, well, Lord, you surely did stand with me because if you hadn’t stood with me, I wouldn’t be here today. God takes great delight in standing with his children. Remember what he said about the Holy Spirit? He said, I’m going away, but I’m not going to leave you like orphans. Here’s what he was saying. I’m not going to desert you. He knew they were going to desert him that very night. He said, but I’m not going to desert you. I’m not going to leave you. He says, I’m going to send you one just like me. Hallows, said the Greek. Hallows, just like me. The Holy Spirit, he’ll be in you, with you, and upon you. All the days of our life, once you trust that Jesus is your Savior, you and I have, listen, we have omnipotence living on the inside of us. So listen to what the Apostle Paul said. But the Lord stood with me, and what did he do? He strengthened me. One of the keys to being able to face any difficulty or hardship with courage is, listen, not only to be aware of his presence, but listen, to draw from his strength. He says, the Lord stood with me and strengthened me. Now let’s face it, difficulty, hardship, pain, stress, trials, all of these things do what to us? They sometimes drain us emotionally. And when you get drained emotionally and tired and weary emotionally, you’re going to feel that away physically. And when you get that away physically, oftentimes you’ll feel that emotionally. So that one of the dangers in facing difficulty and hardship, if we do not understand how to do it, how to face it, it will begin to drain us. We begin to get drained physically and emotionally. We become very, very vulnerable to satanic attacks that we would not be vulnerable to in other circumstances when we are not physically, emotionally, and spiritually drained. And so he says, the Lord stood with me and strengthened me. Now think about this. The power of the Holy Spirit is that divine energy that courses through our spiritual veins. We sense something. We feel something. That divine energy can strengthen you physically. Listen, it can absolutely come to your defense emotionally. Whatever the situation, circumstance, there is a divine energy, a divine presence that is available to every single child of God no matter what. He is there. That energy is there. That strength is there. When you and I stand, listen, that intimate with Almighty God, we’re going to sense His strength. Things that would normally overwhelm you. Things that would normally unnerve you. Things that would normally throw you off the path. When you’re claiming… When you’re living out of, when you’re drinking from, when you’re feasting from, when you’re drawing from the strength of Almighty God, there’s not any circumstance, any situation, no matter what, that can defeat you as long as you’re drawing from the right well. But oftentimes people want to turn to something else. I’m going through this difficulty. I’m going through this pain. I just can’t handle it. There’s only one thing that’ll help you to survive. That is the living God. Remember what the apostle Paul said? Very difficult time in his life. Something that was prolonged suffering in his life. He says, this thorn in my side, this thorn in the flesh. He says, here’s what I learned. And if you’re not familiar with this passage, you might want to turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 12. And you recall that when he was discussing how he felt and how he responded, he said he prayed three times, more than likely periods of fasting and praying for God to remove this, whatever it was, physical or whatever it might have been. Nobody knows exactly. Here’s what he said. He said, verse 8. concerning this, I entreated the Lord three times that I might, that it might depart from me. And he says, here’s what God, how God answered. He said to me, my grace is sufficient for you. My power is perfected in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore, I’m well content with weakness, with insults, distresses and persecutions and difficulties for Christ’s sake. For when I’m weak, then I’m strong. Here’s what he said. He said, you know what? I’ve discovered something. Listen, he said, I have discovered that the power of the sovereign God of the universe reaches its peak in my life when I reach the lowest moment in my life and I am desperate and I don’t have an answer and things look hopeless and helpless and I have nothing to turn to. He says it’s in those moments when the surging power of almighty God comes into my life and I sense the power of God in those moments as at no other times. Therefore, when somebody says, well, you know, I want the power of God in my life. I want to sense the Holy Spirit in my life. Is that right? Yeah, oh yes, I do. Let me ask you this. How weak are you willing to become? How many trials are you willing to face? How desperate are you willing to get? How hopeless are you willing for your situation to become? How helpless are you willing to get? How far down are you willing to go? You want to sense God’s power in its mighty peak performance. Paul says, when I am the weakest, that’s when I feel it. Standing before that tribunal, He may have felt a moment of weakness and a moment of fear, but recognizing he stood in the presence of the living God and recognizing that he could draw strength from the living God. He said, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. My God shall supply all my needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus, period. He knew where the well was on the inside. Most people today are looking something on the outside to help them through difficulty. Listen, the greatest help the most dependable help, the most reliable help, the most sufficient help, the most adequate help, listen, the most supreme help, the most awesome help, the most eternal help, the most available help is not out yonder anywhere, but on the inside of every single child of God. It is the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit, that unlimited, listen, unlimited power unleashed in our life in order that you and I may be able to face any circumstance, no matter what it may be. Paul says, look at that passage. He said, In those moments when he stood before them, he said, all my friends deserted me. There was not anyone there. No one supported me, but all deserted me. May it not be counted against them. Then he says, but the Lord stood with me, strengthened me. Now watch this. He strengthened me in order that through me, the proclamation might be fully accomplished and that all the Gentiles might hear. And I was delivered out of the mouth of the lions. What does he say? Three things I want you to notice here. The first one, we said a few moments ago, the awareness of his presence. When I’m facing difficulty and trials, the awareness of his presence. Secondly, is drawing from his strength. And thirdly, look at this, yielded to his purpose. Yielded to his purpose. Now, I want you to listen very carefully because this is where many believers miss it. The greatest opportunity of their life, they miss it and they blow it right here. The apostle Paul is standing before this tribunal and he said, notice how he said it. He said, the Lord stood with me and strengthened me. Why did he strengthen him? Listen, he said, in order that I may do what? That I or through me, the proclamation might be fully accomplished. Now, here’s the thing I want us to notice here. When you and I go through difficulty and hardship, what is our response? Is it, first of all, how can I get out of this? How can I escape? How can I eliminate this pain? That was not Paul’s response. What we have to ask is, God, what is your purpose for this crisis? What is your purpose for this hurt? What is your purpose for this pain? What is your purpose for this sorrow? What is your purpose for allowing me to be defeated? God, what’s this all about? Because you see, God, in every single instance in our life, and especially in times of hardship and pain and suffering and trial, God has a purpose. Now, his purposes may be several. It may be something that God wants to do in us. Surely, oftentimes it is. Something he wants to straighten out in our life. Something he wants to sand and sift and sculpt and prune out of our life. Some of that’s always there. But one thing for certain. I may not know all the purpose, but one purpose I know for certain. It is an awesome opportunity for God’s children to give witness and testimony. Listen, the most powerful sermons preached are not preached from pulpits. They’re preached in people’s lives where they live who are going through difficulty and hardship and pain. And they’re being obedient to God, walking in his will, walking in his way, being able to smile above their tears. Being able to continue in life above their sorrow, their hurt, and their loss and saying, my God is adequate. My God is sufficient. He is my God and he can be yours too through faith in Jesus Christ. That’s the kind of God we serve. That’s who he is. And so the apostle Paul would say to us, no matter what you’re going through in life, listen, be aware of his presence. Draw your strength from his abiding presence within you and fulfill, listen, discover his purpose, fulfill his purpose for whatever it may be in your life at that moment. And certainly one of those is to be the kind of witness, the kind of stalwart, courageous witness, listen, that says to an unbelieving world, our God’s for real. You know what the unbelieving world, what they’re looking for? They want evidence that God’s real. They want evidence. I mean, you can tell us this. There are lots of other religions out there, but there’s no song in those religions. There’s no joy in those religions. There’s no peace in those religions. There’s no assurance in those religions. There’s no contentment in those religions. We have it. And what the unbelieving world is looking for, they’re looking for people. whose lives shout, whose lives proclaim unmistakably, this God is real. He is so real, I am willing to stake my life on it. And when I think about a young teenage girl who’s willing to look in the eyes of a vicious young man and in the end of a revolver and say, yes, I am a Christian, that is a testimony the world will never forget. Then the Apostle Paul mentioned one other thing. Look back, if you will, in verse 13. He said, now, Timothy, when you come, bring the cloak, which I left at Troas with Carpus, and the books, especially the parchments. Now, the books, more than likely. were probably, nobody knows for certain, but probably, maybe, those early writings of the Gospels or some portion of it. But when he talked about the parchments, he’s talking about his Hebrew Bible. Now, it wouldn’t be a Bible, you know, all in leather like this, but they were parchments. And so he said, bring them with you. More than likely, he may have had them when he was in prison before or they may have been taken away, but this time he had left them having been arrested. He said, bring those. Why do you think he wanted those? Because the apostle Paul needed the scriptures just like you and I need them. And you see, when you and I go through difficulty and hardship and pain, so many times people say, I got to call my friend. Listen, instead of calling your friend, open this book, get on your face before God and tell the friend of all friends to speak to your heart. He always has something to say to us when we’re willing to listen to him. All of us have patches of scripture in the Bible that we’ve marked. As I tell people, your Bible ought to get dirtier as the days go by because as your Bible gets dirty, what happens? Heart gets clean. You write in the Bible, put down dates by those verses of scripture that God has spoken to your heart about. And if you’ll put a date down by it, maybe just one or two words, what you were going through at that particular time, what happens? This book becomes an autobiography. It’ll tell you, as you look back through it, you’ll find out what you were doing and what was happening in your life and passages that you have forgotten. God will bring to your mind and heart what He’ll do. He will encourage your heart. And haven’t you all, certainly I hope every single one of you has had those experiences in life where you say, God, this verse got my name addressed, social security number, my age. It’s got everything down. It couldn’t be meant for anybody but me. And you know what? That’s the awesome power of this book. It doesn’t make sense where you live, what your language is. If somebody can translate it for you, I guarantee you right now that there’s a passage of Scripture in here to meet your need no matter what’s going on in your life. Now, you think about this for a moment. You face some difficulty, some hardship, some crises, something that brings you great sorrow, pain, hurt, or suffering in your life. How are you going to respond? Fear? Blame? Do it quietly? whatever it might be, or are you going to say, father, I just want to thank you. You said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. You’re right here. Father, I want to thank you that you said through the apostle Paul, I can do all things through Christ who is strengthening me and you will strengthen me now. Father, I want to thank you that whatever purpose you have in mind for allowing this to happen, I’m available for you to use me, available to hurt, available to suffer, available to be left, available to be deserted. Whatever it takes, God, for you to accomplish your purpose, the answer is yes. And Lord, as I peruse and meditate upon your word, would you just feed my soul what I need to have at this moment of my life to see me through this? 1,500 years later, William Tyndale in a prison. In prison because he had committed himself to getting the Bible in a language that everybody could understand. Facing death, he wrote his friend and he said, please bring me a new cap, bring my woolen shirt, something to patch up my leggings, but above all, bring me my Hebrew Bible. Listen, when you get down You don’t give up. When you get down, you don’t get discouraged. Let me ask you a question. How can I justify any prolonged discouragement Pull me when I have the living God living on the inside of me, standing by me, strengthening me. Listen, with a definite purpose in mind for allowing me to be there. And not only that, having this most precious thing that exists on the face of this earth, the living, infallible, inerrant word of the living God, for God to speak to me personally and to say to me, I will be with you. How many times have I gone back to Joshua 1.9? Be strong and of a good courage. Fear not, neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with you wherever you go. Friend, that’ll take you through every hardship, every trial, every difficulty, every pain, and every crisis. And you’ll come out standing up because the one who is within you will stand you up and keep you up no matter what.

SPEAKER 02 : 20:01

Thank you for listening to part two of The Courage to Face Life’s Trials. If you’d like to know more about Charles Stanley or InTouch Ministries, stop by InTouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of InTouch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.