Grace for Times of Trouble
Words from Jesus
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“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, for you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”—James 1:2–41
The way to My perfect peace is to trust in Me, My child. Trust. As you look back on the times in the past when you were in turmoil and when you asked yourself, “How can these things be so?” can you see how even these worked for your good? Can you see the good fruits of growth in your character?
There are times in life when you must walk a mile with sorrow. But this is godly sorrow, which is not for your hurt, but for your good. Do not worry or fear that you have failed, but trust in My good purposes in your life for every mile of the journey.
In the times of your struggles, as you endure the storms of life, I am there beside you. I wish for you to come through victorious and be filled with My joy to overflowing, but you must seek your joy in Me. Even My service, which can be a source of joy and so fulfilling, cannot take the place of your communion with Me.
Come to Me and let My Spirit produce joy in your life. Where or how you serve Me is not as important as your walk with Me and the guidance that you receive at My hand. Your time on earth and your service to Me is but a drop in the bucket of My vast and marvelous universe. But your communion with Me and all that you learn from it will live on forever.
You’re so special to Me. I made you just the way you are and planned every detail of your personality and makeup. I made you to fulfill the role that I have just for you. There is no other you, and no one else that I will use in exactly the same way to reach the people that I want you to reach with My love.
Grace for affliction
“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.”—2 Corinthians 9:8, 102
The burdens that you have carried so bravely have drawn you closer to Me. Through this affliction you have learned to lean more fully upon Me and My strength and grace. Through this time of squeezing has come forth sweetness, and in this I am well pleased. Through the trials, you have cried out to Me, and I have comforted you and upheld you.
Though you feel weak and afflicted, and though you struggle, rejoice in how your love for Me has sustained you, and your faith and perseverance have grown. So don’t fear the times of trials; remember that you are fighting the good fight of faith. You are doing well and My strength is being manifested through your weakness.
I love you, My precious one. Never fear or doubt My wonderful love for you. I will keep you and uphold you and sustain you moment by moment, and when your race is finished, you will enter into the joy of your Lord.
Grace to trust
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear.”—Psalm 46:1–23
Trust Me in this time of affliction. Trust Me, knowing that in My love I do all things well.
Do not look at your current situation as a punishment or a chastisement from My hand. It has brought you closer to Me. Even in your moments of affliction, pain, and suffering, you still trust Me and look to Me in faith. This is a great thing in My eyes, a beautiful testimony of faith!
Do not think of yourself as a failure or as a burden to others, or as one upon whom the hand of the Lord rests heavily. Count this time of affliction as a time of joy and this time of testing as an honor and a privilege, as your faith that is tested in the fire is much more precious than gold.4
Hold on to your faith and confidence; remember that it will be richly rewarded.5 Give no place to fear. Do not let yourself be burdened with remorse or the need to somehow make yourself more worthy of My healing and blessing. My grace is freely given to you—and it is not by your own works of righteousness, but by My mercy.6
Have faith, dear one, and trust Me in spite of the suffering, pain, and loss that you feel. If you can trust Me and say, “Though I pass through the furnace of affliction, yet will I trust Him; though I lose my strength, my health, even my life, I will trust Him and trust that He does all things well,” you will have placed yourself entirely in My care.
As you place your trust in Me, you will find peace of mind and contentment of heart in knowing that I am well pleased with your fight of faith and your life of love. My love for you is so great! Therefore, do not fear, but come to Me and find rest and peace in My presence.
Built to withstand
“Therefore let all the faithful pray to you while you may be found; surely the rising of the mighty waters will not reach them. You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.”—Psalm 32:6–77
I understand that you feel like a little ship that has set out on life’s ocean, vast and wide. And now, with no sight of land on the horizon, a storm has overcome your tiny vessel. Howling winds and raging waves, and lightning and thunder crash about you. You think of turning back, but you cannot, as the storm is all around you. You cannot even go forward because you can’t see which way you are headed. You doubt that your tiny vessel will hold together through the fierce storm.
If you would come to Me, the builder of your little ship, you would understand that I fashioned you with full knowledge of the storms at sea. I took into account the patterns of the winds and the tempest, and I built your ship to withstand. So do not worry if you lose a plank here or there, or if one of your sails gets torn or damaged. I have built your ship to last, and you will not go down in the storm.
I do not ask you to struggle alone to stay afloat or to make any headway during this storm. Just sit it out, calmly, trusting as a little child on her father’s knee, feeling secure and safe, knowing that her father would let nothing harm her for the world. Your heavenly Father will always care for you as His beloved child.
Joy in the spirit
“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”—John 15:118
The joy of My Spirit is with you always, even when you feel no joy in your heart and you shed tears. My joy is something that will never end, and not even the loneliest nights or the darkest clouds can take that away from you. The happiness of earthly things is temporal and a fleeting feeling—it comes and goes with your mood, your surroundings, and with the physical things that you see, touch, and feel.
But the joy of My Spirit comes from knowing that I am your Savior and I care for you, and you are called and chosen, and I am preparing an eternal place for you in heaven.
The joy that I give is as constant as the sun. Though the night comes and you cannot see it, you never doubt its existence or that it will rise the next morning. So is the joy that I give you; though ever present, the night comes and you lose sight of it. That is the time to trust and rest in Me until the morning when it comes into sight again.
Originally published in 1997. Adapted and republished November 2022.
Read by Reuben Ruchevsky. Music by John Listen.
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