40. WHEN LIFE THROWS YOU LEMONS

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This morning, I was thinking on some of the cards that life had dealt me, so-to-speak, which had been in my view, quite unfair. I also thought on how I myself had made poor and foolish decisions which had only made things worse and how I had reaped pain, heartache, sorrow and confusion, as a result.

All this made me feel sad, as I felt like I had been fighting against an avalanche of problems for so long and I was truly tired. Couldn’t anything turn out right in my life, for once? I thought to myself. Why did life have to be so hard? Why did it seem like I was always being dealt the rough end of the stick?

Why did I have so many problems? Why didn’t they ever seem to want to end? Why was I seemingly, always the object of people’s ridicule, insults and attacks? Why couldn’t I just enjoy some rest for a while, like normal people?

This led me to think about Joseph, the son of Jacob, whose story is recorded in the scriptures. He went through a whole lot and not even due to his own fault and yet, he persevered for years and years through it.

Proverbs 24:10 reminds me that, “If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.” I take this to mean that, no matter what life throws at me and for how long, I have to lean on God’s strength and press on. This is easier said than done but by God’s grace, it can be done.

A little over two weeks ago, I wrote as a reminder to myself and to whoever had the opportunity to read the quotes on my ‘Broken Daughters of God – Hephzibah Diaries’ Facebook page:

This is so true of the attitude that I need to adopt and persist in.

In the Old Testament, Joseph was not dealt a kind hand in life but he still gave it his all. Wherever he went, whatever position he occupied, be it slave in Potiphar’s house or prisoner in prison, he did his very best, gave it his all and trusted God to work out what he could not understand.

And God did. In his own time (not Joseph’s), he released him from bondage, promoted him and provided generously for him.

The God of the scriptures is the same God today. He can do the same for you and for me. Let us adopt the attitude that Joseph had and aim, no matter how many sour lemons life has thrown at us and how sad we sometimes feel about it, to be the best that God wants us to be and to do everything as unto the Lord and with excellence.

Colossians 3:23-24 tells us, “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.”

Eccclesiastes 9:10 also gives a sombre reminder of how temporary life is, encouraging us to do what we can, to the best of our ability, whenever we can. It states, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.”

Of blessing people, even when we feel that we are being deprived in our own life of certain blessings, the Word of God advises “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.” (Galatians 6:10).

“As we have therefore opportunity…”. This involves not waiting for the sky to clear and for the sun to come out. Even when adversity seems to be raining torrents of problems on us, let us be of good cheer and still find ways to do good to other people. Believe it or not, we can be in need and still meet the need of others. This is called sacrificial giving and it is something that God is pleased with.

This past week, I did just that. Although feeling overwhelmed with longstanding and seemingly never ending career problems, relational issues and singleness woes (because Prince Charming still had the nerve at this late hour, to remain absent and not make an appearance), I chose to forget about me for a while and to reach out instead to someone whose birthday was coming up. In fact, I had been making plans for this since early February, before my own birthday and so, on 26th March, 2022 and 31st March, 2022 (the actual birthday of the individual), I treated the person to a Brunch and a Surprise Function. I also took her to an expert Photographer for professional photo shoots and gave her little surprises here and there, all week long.

I did something similar some years back with a lady who had more financial problems than I had back then and who attended the Church I used to attend while working on another Island.

As I planned the birthday events, some wondered why I was doing all that and why, given my employment problems, I did not just focus on saving whatever finances I still had left in my bank account, instead of ‘wasting’ it, as they defined it. However, I was mindful of that verse in Galatians 6:10. I was mindful of the fact that just last December, feeling led to do so, I had made some groceries and given it to an elderly villager along with the gospel message in a written Article. The man was so touched, that he went and told people in the village what I had done and concluded to them that it must be that I loved him, given the kind of things that I had placed in his hamper.

I am mindful of the fact that, about one month later, that man suddenly died. I was reminded in the aftermath, that we ought not to waste time being caught up in ourselves and our problems but even in the face of adversity, must be determined to use the time that God has alloted, to do our very best with whatever little he has given us. Like Joseph, we must leave what we cannot handle in God’s able hands (like securing the right job and getting a godly husband) and still ask the question, even as Saul of Tarsus did: What will you have me to do Lord?

Having a sea of problems is no excuse to sit down and do nothing. Even when we’re hurting because life has seemingly thrown us some awful lemons, we can still shine to God’s glory and with excellence, even as Joseph did, during those difficult moments, days and years.

In everything, let us aim to do our best and wait to see what God will do next.

(Written on 06th April, 2022)

Dear Reader, if you found the above Article to be interesting, informative, beneficial or edifying, you may also be interested in reading the following:

Note 14 – ‘Feeling Depressed? Realign Your Focus!’
Note 42 – ‘When That Door Wouldn’t Budge’
Note 50 – ‘Making Sense Of The Awful Stillness – The Process Of Metamorphosis’
Note 70 – ‘Has He Forgotten Me?’
Note 75 – ‘The Danger Of Impatience – He’s Taking Too Long’
Note 79 – ‘The Woman Who Wanted A Baby – Key Points From Hannah’s Story’
Note 120 – ‘Tired of the Storm, Sterility, Stagnancy and Silence? Create a Spiritual Safe House’
Note 26 – ‘Musings From The Pit (Praise Your Way Out)‘
Note 28 – ‘The Fivefold Purpose of Suffering‘
Note 29 – ‘Facing Adversity? Go Through It!‘
Note 108 – ‘Pain – God’s Tool For Our Spiritual Development‘
Note 135 – ‘Are You At A Low Point In Life And Feeling Depressed?‘
Note 160 – ‘When Serving God Doesn’t Seem To Make Sense’
Note 164 – ‘Seven (7) Mindsets That Will Keep You Stuck In The Land Of Sterility’
Note 186 – ‘The Pain I Felt In My Series Of Pit Experiences‘
Note 222 – ‘Suffering? Bad Attitudes That Will Only Make It Worse‘
Note 224 – ‘Symptoms Of A Person Outside The Favour Of God’
Note 240 – ‘Serve God Wherever And In Whatever You Are Called’
Note 279 – ‘Do You Feel Disappointed By God?’
Note 298 – ‘Arm Yourself: Suffering Is Part of The Christian’s Story‘
Note 305 – ‘The Lady With The Issue Of Blood’
Note 308 – ‘Fair Weather People’