Dear Friends,
AHG Girl Blogger, Sarah Peterson tackles the subject of the usefulness of Trials in sharpening our walk with Christ. With wisdom beyond her years, Sarah shares her thoughts and I pray you will share this important message with a special girl in your life!
Trials. Not a fun word. Not something we like
going through. and sometimes we don't expect them.
This last weekend we were at Faith Baptist Bible College for their annual high
school basketball tournament. I was very excited. Last year our team went down
and won the whole thing! We lost four of our starters last year, so I knew that
this year at the tournament would be harder.
But I didn't think it would be this hard.
The first three games were pool play to determine our ranking for the fourth game on Saturday. We lost all three pool play games. On Saturday we would play for seventh out of eight teams.
Talk about a trial.
I don't like trials. Never have. Thing is, I learned so much this basketball tournament. Not only about basketball, but also about myself, my attitude, my character and my walk with God. Trials do help us learn. Funny...God uses trials to teach us things that we may not have learned otherwise. Would I have looked at my attitude if we had won every game? Probably not, because my attitude would have been great. But instead I had to learn to love the other players on and off the court when they killed us. I had to keep my head up high for the younger girls when I really just wanted to go into the locker room and pout. I had to honor God with my thoughts when I honestly was feeling defeated. Saturday night I got home and I was tired. Mentally and emotionally. But looking back a few days later, I think that we had the best tournament yet. Yes we got crushed, but we bonded as a team. We lost together. We learned together. We encouraged each other together.
God uses trials. Why?
1) they push us out of our comfort zone. I wasn't comfortable losing. Honestly I wasn't used to it. The past few years we have only lost about six games. But losing made me think that winning isn't everything. Character is. If we won but had a horrible attitude, we might as well have lost. Wins and medals will fade, but who you are as a person never will.
2) they reveal what we need to work on. Not only did I learn tons of things that I need to work on in basketball (better passes, hustling more, having patience, etc.) but also about myself off the court. I get in to the habit of having an attitude of defeat. I feel like I have to be perfect and when I'm not I feel defeated. I learned that I can't have that attitude. If you're in a hole and life throws dirt your way, shake it off, stomp it down and step up.
3) they show us that we need to turn to God. When life is going good I get into the habit of forgetting God. I get content. Comfortable. God has to sometimes throw a trial into our lives to remind us who is truly in control. Lesson from that? Don't wait for a trial to put God first. Make Him a priority when things are going great as well as horrible.
Trials aren't fun. But you know what? If we let God have His way and if we are teachable, we come out better than before. That tournament changed me as a person and as a basketball player. So are trials bad?
No.
Not if you let them change you into more of an image of Christ. God doesn't bring trials in our lives to knock us down, but so that through Him we can learn to rise up better than before.
But I didn't think it would be this hard.
The first three games were pool play to determine our ranking for the fourth game on Saturday. We lost all three pool play games. On Saturday we would play for seventh out of eight teams.
Talk about a trial.
I don't like trials. Never have. Thing is, I learned so much this basketball tournament. Not only about basketball, but also about myself, my attitude, my character and my walk with God. Trials do help us learn. Funny...God uses trials to teach us things that we may not have learned otherwise. Would I have looked at my attitude if we had won every game? Probably not, because my attitude would have been great. But instead I had to learn to love the other players on and off the court when they killed us. I had to keep my head up high for the younger girls when I really just wanted to go into the locker room and pout. I had to honor God with my thoughts when I honestly was feeling defeated. Saturday night I got home and I was tired. Mentally and emotionally. But looking back a few days later, I think that we had the best tournament yet. Yes we got crushed, but we bonded as a team. We lost together. We learned together. We encouraged each other together.
God uses trials. Why?1) they push us out of our comfort zone. I wasn't comfortable losing. Honestly I wasn't used to it. The past few years we have only lost about six games. But losing made me think that winning isn't everything. Character is. If we won but had a horrible attitude, we might as well have lost. Wins and medals will fade, but who you are as a person never will.
2) they reveal what we need to work on. Not only did I learn tons of things that I need to work on in basketball (better passes, hustling more, having patience, etc.) but also about myself off the court. I get in to the habit of having an attitude of defeat. I feel like I have to be perfect and when I'm not I feel defeated. I learned that I can't have that attitude. If you're in a hole and life throws dirt your way, shake it off, stomp it down and step up.
3) they show us that we need to turn to God. When life is going good I get into the habit of forgetting God. I get content. Comfortable. God has to sometimes throw a trial into our lives to remind us who is truly in control. Lesson from that? Don't wait for a trial to put God first. Make Him a priority when things are going great as well as horrible.
Trials aren't fun. But you know what? If we let God have His way and if we are teachable, we come out better than before. That tournament changed me as a person and as a basketball player. So are trials bad?
No.
Not if you let them change you into more of an image of Christ. God doesn't bring trials in our lives to knock us down, but so that through Him we can learn to rise up better than before.
Well said Sarah!
Until Next Time,
Patti
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds
James 1: 1-3
1 comment:
Amazing insights, Sarah! Thanks for sharing these encouraging thoughts. You learned a lot from your trial and you inspire me to look for what God will teach me in mine.
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