Glorifying God in the storms of life

It’s easy to praise and worship God when life is going well.  When the waters of life are still, calm and tranquil, we can easily proclaim that God is good.  But it’s another thing entirely when adverse situations test us and shake us to our core.  Yet, according to Tim Tebow, these seasons may be the most important times to being a strong Christian witness for God.

Tim, in his book “Through My Eyes” (a book worthy of consideration as a Christmas gift for the football lover in your life) writes this, “Sometimes, people see more of your witness when you’re facing adversity than when everything is going your way…when you are able to reflect God’s light during those times of great disappointment, it can have quite an impact.”

As a football fan, I am always keen on watching the reactions of players and coaches after a particularly difficult loss.  Even more interesting is to watch how angry a coach is after a team loses a game that they should have won due to a controversial ending.  The character and maturity of the person comes out in those situations.

For example, consider a game in week 4 of this year.  The Arizona Cardinals lost a game to the New York Giants that they really should have won.  Late in the game, a Giants player fumbled the ball and the Cardinals recovered.  The Cardinals would have had the ball and killed the clock to win the game.  However, the referees got it wrong stating that the Giants player had “given himself up,” which ended the play before he fumbled.  Thus the Giants maintained possession of the ball.  The Giants quarterback, Eli Manning, subsequently threw a touchdown pass to lift his team to a 31-27 victory.  To his credit, after the game, Cardinals coach, Ken Whisenhunt, didn’t throw a temper tantrum or insult the referees.  Although he was understandably far from thrilled, he simply declared, “It shouldn’t have come to that play.”  If you’re interested, here’s more information on that game:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/recap?gid=20111002022 

On a more practical level than a trivial football game, let me try to wrap this up by stating this: trails, challenges, disappointments, and adverse situations will arise in life.  Our reaction in those times is very important.  The beginning of 1 Peter 1:7 says, “These trials will show that your faith is genuine” (NLT).  Obviously, I don’t relish the thought of having to endure trials, but it is exciting to think about how my attitude and example in the midst of it will show that my Christian faith is real.

Kevin

“These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” - 1 Peter 1:7 (NIV)