From Pity to Praise

Faith is like a muscle because it grows stronger through resistance, exercise, and constant use, but will atrophy if neglected.

Like physical training, spiritual faith is developed by enduring challenges, applying trust in difficult times, and relying on God, ensuring it becomes stronger under pressure.

Like our muscles it needs resistance to grow. When faith is stretched, strained, and tested, it strengthens, much like lifting weights tears muscle tissue to rebuild it stronger.

There’s a common saying, “use it or lose it.” This applies to our faith too. Faith requires daily exercise, if not used it becomes weak and can fade.

Just as muscles develop, regular exercise of faith prepares us to handle larger challenges and trials.

Faith is a conscious choice and discipline, especially during difficult times.

We can exercise our faith by engaging in consistent prayer. This strengthens us particularly in challenging times.

Obedience is key. Acting on God’s Word, even when it’s difficult, builds spiritual strength.

Moving towards fear rather than away, allows our faith to mature.

Relying on God’s promises rather than just our human strength is what builds spiritual muscle.

There are moments in life when friends let us down, doors close, and circumstances feel overwhelming. It’s in those moments that we realize the world isn’t reliable. But this is also when God shows up.

When the world walks out God walks in. His presence fills the emptiness left behind by disappointment. His strength carries us when we feel weak. His love reassures us when hearts are broken.

What ever season you’re going through, we should take a moment everyday to rest in His presence. Release the hurt, the fear, and the unmet expectations into His hands. Let His peace replace the chaos. Remember: God’s timing is perfect, and His plans are unshakable-even when the world turns away.

If you ever have one of those days where it feels like the world forgets about you, pray this prayer from your heart:

Lord, when the world walks out, walk in. Be my strength, my comfort, and my guide. Help me trust You above all else and rest in Your everlasting love. Amen

Obedience is hearing. The word that Hebrew for obedient is the word “Shema.” This word carry with the meaning of hearing, and obeying. Beadiant is not our only share measure of successful listening. There is a relationship between hearing and obeying.

Obedience in Hebrew means to hear, listen, to give attention to, to understand, to submit to and to obey.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer said “One act of obedience is better than one hundred sermons.“

The word Shema for obey is a direct correlation between hearing and obeying. This is where we usually run into difficulty. We hear but don’t obey. Modern culture stresses mental activity in terms of relationship with God, but in order to have a deep relationship with God, we need to not only listen, but give attention, understand, submit, and obey.

To know, God and His voice, we need to first have an intention to do what it is we hear Him say. We must have the willingness of spiritual intent, and practice to prepare the soil of our minds and hearts who directly experience oneness with Him as we hear and obey.

“If you are willing and obedient you shall eat the good of the land“ -Isaiah 1:19

Willingness yoking yourselves to the will and Word of God. When we do, this, we will obey as we hear. As a result, just as in Isaiah 1:19, we will eat the good of the land, the rich produce that comes from yoking ourselves to Him. The produce is to shema (obey) what we hear from God. Unless we have harnessed our willingness to yolk ourselves with Him, and His instruction, we will no shema (obey) or hear the voice of God and obey, and subsequently, will not eat the good of the land.

In most cultures, listening is a passive mental activity, and hearing just means that our ears registered sound waves. In Hebrew, the word shema describes hearing and also its outward effects of taking heed, being obedient, and doing what is asked.

“But if you carefully obey His voice and do what I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and an adversary to your adversaries” -Exodus 23:22

For those of us who are parents already understand this biblical truth by the way we speak to our children and give them instruction. The fact that our children simply heard our instruction is not enough. Usually there is a physical, concrete action that they take as a result of their hearing us. When there isn’t, we often repeat it, even louder, until they hear and obey. It is only then that we consider that they in fact heard us. The same is true in scripture. Almost every place is used in the Bible it is translated to obey, rather than hearing, listening give attention, understand, and submit.

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ” -Romans 10:17

It is fruitless for us to read God’s Word without committing ourselves to do what it requires of us. Actually, I think it’s worse than fruitless really because it dulls our hearing all together, and this is disobedience. How can we call ourselves followers of God, and ignore the transformative changes in our lives that He demands.

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear” – Matthew 11:15

Jesus says, “He who had ears to hear let him hear!” he is calling us to put His words into action, not just listen. He wants us to be doers of the word, not hearers only. Our culture puts all our stress on what is it our minds, and tend to consider it action, this is just “dead works.” However, the biblical way of thinking is that we have not yet truly understood, until we put what we have heard into our hearts and allow it to transform the way we live.

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” -James 1:22

When we approach to God and His Word, it isn’t simply about an academic study so we can recite truth, it’s about having our lives changed and transformed. If my life isn’t changing because of His Words, then I haven’t learned anything, and biblical definition, I haven’t heard. The action of obedience is our only sure measure of successful living.

Life has a way of sticking us in situations that we didn’t choose, a season you don’t want it circumstances we have no control over. Maybe you’ve wondered, “God, what good can come from this?”

The Apostle Paul was a prisoner because he preached the gospel of Jesus. Yet, Paul was still took the time to write a letter to the Philippians thanking them for sending him gifts and Epaphroditus (a delegate from the Philippians church to encourage Paul). Paul wasn’t writing from a mountain top or beachside retreat -he was writing from a prison in Rome. Yet his words overflowed with joy, gratitude, and confidence in God’s purpose.

In Philippians 1:12-19, Paul would be under Roman guard 24 hours a day, and was permitted visitors in which Paul would teach the gospel of Jesus. It’s no doubt the guards heard the gospel directly and indirectly. I’m sure Paul’s time in prison emboldened many believers to speak out about Jesus. And some had impure motives that were intended to make Paul’s prison time more painful, but Paul didn’t let this discourage him. Instead, he rejoiced the message of Jesus was being preached. Paul remained confident that the prayers and the comfort of the Holy Spirit would deliver him from chains.

Instead of finding himself confined as a prisoner, Paul used his hardship to advance the gospel of Jesus. Paul’s imprisonment served as an illustration of the words of Jesus. “Unless a kernel of wheat dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies it produces many seeds” (John 12:24). Paul did not die, but his imprisonment sparked a boldness and courage to speak God’s message. Paul’s letters were not just preaching, it was considered public proclamation. The majority of people spoke about Jesus as they went about their day.

Paul does not give us specifics about who he is preaching to, but one thought is that Paul aimed to glorify Christ Jesus and get people to follow Him. Perhaps, Paul’s critics aimed to promote themselves and win a following of their own. Instead of asking “Have you trusted Jesus? They asked “Whose side are you on ours or Paul’s? There’s a similar theory that some believers in Rome had developed a rivalry and jealousy towards Paul. Yet Paul chose to see and hear the silver lining -that Jesus’s name was being amplified.

A life rooted in Jesus can see hardships in a different light.

Paul probably thinks and sees differently because he sees life through the mind of Christ Jesus. We all have the Spirit of Christ Jesus -the Holy Spirit, at our salvation. But like every believer it had to grow, and we have to intentionally put this way of life at the forefront of our daily lives, especially in challenging times.

Paul says in Colossisns 3:2-4 “Set your mind on the things that are above, not the things that are of the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

A heavenly perspective redeem obstacles into opportunities.

God sometimes uses a strange tools to promote and advance His Word. The same God who used Moses rod, Gideon’s pitchers, and David’s sling, used Paul’s chains. Little did the Roman’s realize that the chains they fixed to his wrist was release Paul instead of binding him. Paul did not complain about his chains, instead he consecrated them to God and ask God to use them..

The secret to redeeming Paul’s chains, as tools was having the eternal, heavenly mindset and perspective. Paul did not find his joy in ideal circumstances, he found his joy in winning others to Christ. And if his circumstances promoted the gospel, that was all that mattered.

What if we thought and looked at our difficult hardships, long seasons, every day circumstances, or even inconveniences, as opportunities to grow in the discipline of a heavenly perspective, and glorify God? What if a workplace wasn’t a prison but a platform to share the joy and goodness of God? What if that delay was God‘s protection? What if it changed your plans was moving you into a divine opportunity to care for or minister to someone? Learn to see the heavenly perspective and redeem those opportunities.

When we keep a heavenly perspective, we can see the silver lining, the bright side, and the possibility of the situation turning into good, or the truth that God is working. I’ll be honest I have days where I don’t see redeemable opportunities, the silver lining, or the bright side.

Paul was uncertain of his future on earth, but he knew that he would never be ashamed of how he lived. He was not completely certain what was going to happen next, but he never faltered between being with Christ Jesus and continuing to live to help people grow in their faith. Paul believed he would remain alive to visit again and give them even more of a reason to boast the power of Christ Jesus. 

Our heavenly perspective knows this truth: Joy doesn’t exist in the absence of hardship, joy exists in the presence of Christ Jesus.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight” -Proverbs 3-5-6

Life rarely unfolds the way we expect. Plans change, doors close, and sometimes we can find ourselves walking through seasons that feel uncertain, painful, or confusing. In those moments, trusting God can feel difficult.

Scripture tells us that trust is not based on our understanding -it’s based on God’s character. He sees what we cannot see. What feels like a detour to us may actually be part of His greater plan.

Think about Joseph in the book of Genesis. He was betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, and imprisoned unjustly. For years, His life was a series of setbacks. But God was working behind the scenes, and eventually Joseph was placed in a position where he could save many lives.

Joseph’s account reminds us that God’s silence doesn’t mean His absence.

Trusting God doesn’t mean everything will always make sense. It means believing that God is faithful even when life is unclear.

Trust grows when we keep walking with God, even when we cannot see the entire path.