What do you do when you face crisis and crippling situations? When you face issues that seem to take the fun out of your life, how do you respond? We all encounter situations that don’t look like they were designed to make us smile. It may be your overbearing flatmate or neighbour. It may be a delayed promotion. It may be a crumbling business that forces you to consider compromise. It may be the burden of a crippling illness. Or maybe your flat bank credit. Or possibly, the unpalatable detours of plans and dreams. We don’t always have the “sunny side up” in life and hence discomforts are relative ‘normal’.
It is one thing to acknowledge that life brings its ugliness to the picture at every season, and phase of life. It is another thing to know how to handle them when they come. And that begs the question, how do you handle trials, temptations and tempters?
I’m sure you have answers. But I prefer going straight to the way Jesus Christ asked us to handle it. It was not in vain that the bible said;
KJV For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:15
Jesus very well went through trials, temptations and tempters. And He overcame all. But that’s not the fun part. The fun part is that he told us how to handle them. How?
In Matthew 9:37-38, Jesus saw the scums and called them “harvest”. Let’s put this in perspective. In God’s ideal world, He wants an earth full of His sons: strong, controlled by His Spirit and goal-driven (the goal here being to establish the Government of God upon the earth). That’s the plan. But what Jesus was accosted with were hopeless looking, destitute people. And guess what? He called them Harvests. He said, “The harvest is plentious but the labourers are few.”
What Jesus called “harvest” was not a team of evangelists but a crowd of desolate people. Instead He saw the ‘evangelists’ as labourers.
Jesus taught a few things here.
First, don’t see the obstacles, the negation, ill results and unenticing people or situations as problems but as harvests. Don’t even see them as the process. See them as the harvests–a harvest calling and beckoning on labourers.
This is a hard one. Hard to grasp. But let me explains.
Your corrupt coursemates/roommate is not a “process you must go through to learn patience and love”. They are a harvest to manifest your endued skills (of love and patience) as a labourer. They don’t teach you how to be a labourer. They validate your professionalism as a labourer.
I know you previously see difficult people and situations as a test to make you better. You saw the trials as designed to make you stronger, your lack as positioned to make you learn patience and faith. When you look at the from that view, you see them as “a training ground”. A system put up to equip you with skill and character.
That’s one way to look at it. But it’s the lesser life. The less proactive way to handle it. And definitely not what Jesus taught us.
It’s a Mind Trick!
What happens when you see unsettling situations as a “training ground“? You develop the victim mentality. You cry. You cry in ‘patience’ because it is a “trying of your faith“. You try to love because your emotions are not exactly in the mood to love. And when you pray, you pray like a victim. You pray for the ‘suffering’ to be reduced. If you are righteous enough, you pray for the person or situation to be altered.
On the flip side, what happens when you see ill situations as a “deployment ground“? You go there as an armed winner. A trained soilder. You don’t go there trying to be pitied. You go there excited at your gains. It’s going to be laborious, that you’re sure of. But you don’t whine. Or murmur. No farmer mourns when it’s harvest time. They are excited. And so you will be.
Why?
Because that is your harvest. Not your seed. At least, that is what Jesus taught. You don’t cry because crying is only for planting seasons. You’re harvesting. So you rejoice. You rejoice in adversity. You rejoice in lack. You rejoice in the trying of your faith. Because you go in there as a skilled workman that doesn’t need to be ashamed. Armed. Ready. Victorious.
Skill Validity
The manner in which the process of harvesting occurs is proof of the labourer’s craftsmanship. No one employs a labourer hoping that they’ll learn on the field. The labourer is considered skilled. Learned. Apt. Trained. And hence, employed.
When you face diverse ill situations, you must recognise that it is not exactly a test of your faith. It is a test for your faith. You might need to read that again.
God knows you can handle it. He has not permitted you to face it because he wants to check your weak areas. He had allowed you go through it because He’s sure of your strength. It’s just left for you to prove Him right.
This is how to handle harvests. This is how to handle workers in church or the office who give headaches. This is how to handle stressful and straining circumstances. Not from the reactive, victim mindset as if you were not equipped for the harvest. But from the proactive, winner mindset, knowing you have all the qualifications to handle the ripe fields.
Shalom!
Do you hear God speaking to you today through this lesson? Please, leave a comment or question; your comment/question might be a blessing to someone. You could also contact us through our contact page.
Wow!
This is hard meat and deep! truth Zoë😅 God bless you for sharing.