Finding God in the Tough Times

I found this and thought it very interesting...

Finding God in Tough Times
Sometimes we're looking for the wrong stuff. God isn't out of the hard time; He's with us in the hard time. God isn't always the fire escape or the exit ramp. And God doesn't cause problems. In this world, we will have trouble (John 16:33), but we are reassured that our temptations are common to man (1 Corinthians 10:13)

.1. God uses tough times to direct us.
Problems change plans. It's part of the spiritual refining process. And God uses problems to point us in new directions and down new paths. Hard times pick you up and drop you somewhere else.

1 Peter 4:12-13: "Friends, when life gets really difficult, don't jump to the conclusion that God isn't on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner."

Lamentations 3:33: "He takes no pleasure in making life hard,in throwing roadblocks in the way."
Aristotle said we only learn through pain.

Proverbs 16:9: "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." and Psalm 119:59: "When I took a long, careful look at your ways, I got my feet back on the trail you blazed."
You can make a plan, but God directs, and He usually does it with problems. Rarely do we question what's critically important during good times. In 1 Kings 17, God tells Elijah to go to a brook, where He will be fed by ravens and drink water from the brook. After a while, the brook dried up. If God hadn't done that, Elijah would never have moved.

Question to ask yourself: Where is this problem leading me?

2. God uses tough times to inspect us.
Jeremiah 17:10: "I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve."God gives pop quizzes - not scheduled exams.

Job 7:17-18: "What is man that you make so much of him, that you give him so much attention, that you examine him every morning and test him every moment?"God is more interested in what's on the inside. It's like a tea bag; we need to be put in "hot water", so to speak, in order to see what's on the inside. Or an avocado - you need to squeeze it to know that it's ripe.

Proverbs 16:2: "Humans are satisfied with whatever looks good; GOD probes for what is good."When you keep going through the same lesson over and over - what is God trying to show you? It only should have taken the Israelites a few weeks to go through the desert, but it took them 40 years.

Question to ask yourself: What does this tough time reveal about me?

3. God uses tough times to correct us.
Hebrews 12:8-10: "If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness."
God does not punish His children (meaning Christians); He disciplines and corrects us because He loves us. Correction always looks at the future: how can we get better/learn from this? Christ took our punishment (Isaiah 53:5). We don't have to pay for our sins.

Job 5:17: "So, what a blessing when God steps in and corrects you! Mind you, don't despise the discipline of Almighty God!" CS Lewis said, "God whispers to us in our pleasure but shouts to us in our pain." It's a spiritual megaphone.

Job 36:15: "But those who learn from their suffering, God delivers from their suffering." God uses distress to open our eyes.

Question to ask yourself: What is this problem teaching me?

4. God uses tough times to protect us.
Psalm 91:3: "That's right--he rescues you from hidden traps, shields you from deadly hazards."

What's a disappoint for us is an appointment for God.

1 Peter 3:17: "It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil."
"Why is this happening" is not the best question. My pastor told this great story about how his dad built him and his brother a go-cart. It had a built-in part called a "Governor" that regulated it so it wouldn't go too fast. One day, his brother decided to take the governor off, get in the go-cart and drive. Well, he ended up flipping over in the go-cart! God is always trying to protect us, but often we take it into our own hands and remove the safeguard He has put in place.

Proverbs 20:24: "The very steps we take come from GOD; otherwise how would we know where we're going?"
Joseph (in Genesis) had a terrible route. Sold by his brothers into slavery, accused of rape, imprisoned. But Genesis 50:20 reassures us: "Don't you see, you planned evil against me but God used those same plans for my good, as you see all around you right now--life for many people."

Question to ask yourself: What is this problem protecting me from?

5. God uses tough times to perfect us.
1 Peter 5:10: "And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast."

There is a process that we are in the middle of. God is working in us.

Romans 5:3-4: "There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next."It helps us to trust in God. If we focus on the problem, and not God, the problem wins.

Question to ask yourself: How is this situation perfecting me?

Closing: God, where do You want me to go? Is there a weakness, a misplaced priority? What do You want me to learn? What is the greater good?