The Mystery of God: How I Triumph

Throughout my life, I’ve noticed a trend in which I’ll seemingly enter seasons of harvest, praising God for the wonderful opportunities that are presented and then something happens in an attempt to deter my praise. It’s as if, a single event causes me to doubt or become unsatisfied with the opportunity I thought was a blessing from God.

For example, my aunt had a stroke before Christmas, spent 20 days in the hospital waiting for her insurance to clear before going to acute rehab. We prayed and her insurance cleared! We were praising God! However, the same day her insurance cleared, she decided to escape from the hospital causing her to lose her qualification for acute rehab.

I can share countless stories.

Last week I randomly received a response for an apartment I applied for in the housing lottery two years ago. Three days later, I received a summons about my father’s (who is deceased) home foreclosure process in which I would need to find an attorney for.

Or the job I thought was going to open doors for me, help me advance my technical skills and get ahead in the industry actually turned out to be a stalemate.

Or the guy I thought was everything I ever wanted and needed, turned out not to be any of those things.

I learned that things aren’t always what they seem. And through my extreme highs and lows in life, I somehow manage to ride the current and trust God enough to persevere.

I love James 1:2-4 because it perfectly sums up the position in which God wants us to be in when we face trials. He doesn’t want us to feel powerless, alone or defeated. He wants us to have confidence in Him, in His purpose for the trial. Trials are for the endurance of faith, for spiritual maturity, for things unseen. We are not supposed to stop praising or praying every time we face a trial. The scriptures advise us to pray without ceasing.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (ESV)

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

God is definitely up to something. I try to make sense of everything happening in my life but truthfully, I just can’t. It just doesn’t make sense. Any of it. But I don’t believe it’s supposed to. We are supposed to trust that God has a plan. A good plan and that He is working all things out for His good. He will get the glory from our testimonies. Nothing we do or experience is in vain.

And unmerited favor is real!

Not merely anecdotally speaking but God has been revealing this to me in various ways. I’m currently reading a book called “Relentless” by John Bevere. It’s part of my 40 books in 2019 list. The book, as well as Bevere’s sermons, has really opened my mind to really understand what the gift of grace truly is. It’s something we never deserved or could earn. The fact that grace is abundantly given to us exceeds anything we can ever comprehend about God. It doesn’t make sense at all! If God is a God who is just, how can He possibly give us grace? How could God love us that much? According to His goodness, we deserve punishment for our sins however, He saved us through His son Jesus Christ and then gave us the power to overcome everything Jesus has.

That doesn’t make sense. And therefore, God continues to be a mystery worth sacrificing for.  So when I think about all the trials I face I realize that I deserve every one of them but that even so, the Lord always brings me out of it because He has given me grace according to His will. Suddenly, my problems become very small and I am able to see the victory through each of them. I reflect on how God through His provision, has brought me through all of my hardships in the past.

That’s how I triumph.

So whenever you’re faced with a trial that does not make sense or even a blessing that does not make sense, remember God sending His only son to die on a cross for our sins does not make sense either. If your life doesn’t make sense right now it’s a good thing because that means God has something planned and He is about to get all of the glory!

God bless you!

Author: Vanessa Mack

A Christian millennial, fascinated with grace, passionate about learning, tech, finance, expressive writing and encouraging others. View all posts by Vanessa Mack