Real Mature: What You Can Do to Grow Your FaithSample

How do you handle it when things don’t go your way? Do you pout? Do you get quiet? Do you take it out on others? For most there is a switch in us that shows the not so good side of who we are. That switch is usually flipped in moments when things don’t go the way we want, which often leads to no place good. 

It seems to be part of the human condition. The road rage. The words you didn’t mean to say. The time you threw that thing or punched a hole in that wall. OK, maybe we’re getting too personal here, but the truth is, most of us have moments that lead to total frustration and breakdown. If we are honest, if we’ll step back a moment and think about what’s happening, much of our frustration is a result of life not happening our way.

And those moments matter. How we choose to handle those moments will stunt or grow our faith. 

Take a look at this moment Mark shares with us:

Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead. Mark 8:31

Jesus told His followers: things are about to seem bad, but they are about to be awesome. Hang on. Trust me. I have a plan. I am working for your good. Even when it seems like I am not, I am at work. What appears to be negative is really quite positive when God is telling the story.

Real maturity often takes place in the garden of unmet expectations and unknown circumstances. 

As you go about your day and “those” moments happen, pause for a second. Don’t quit. Don’t be angry. Take a deep breath and remind yourself that you can trust Him. Sometimes he uses disappointing moments to produce growth in us. He wants to grow you from it and he will if you choose to trust Him. The choice is yours. Choose wisely. 

Think about it: 

How do you usually handle it when things don’t go your way? 

Think about your life. How have you grown from moments when you had to trust? 

We could all grow some in the area of trust. How can you grow to trust God more in all your moments? 

Pray: 

God, thank you that you are always with us, in good times and bad. Thank you that you take our not so good moments and use them to draw us closer to you and trust that you are with us. Help me to know that right now and choose to trust you first. Amen.