But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run, and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint – Isaiah 40:31.

Waiting is hard for both the unbeliever as well as the believer, we’re impatient. Waiting or patience coincide with longsuffering, one of the Fruit of the Spirit. In order for us to have patience it has to be worked in us. The Fruit of the Spirit isn’t automatically given to us when we become Christians, it something we gain as we continue in this walk with the Lord. Trials and tribulations produces spiritual fruit (And not only so, but we glory in tribulation also knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience, and experience, hope. And hope maketh not ashamed: because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us – Romans 5:3-5).  When the Spirit of God comes and set up resident in our being, He will enable us to go through anything we have to go through as Christians. True Christianity comes with a cross, it comes with some suffering in our emotions and sometimes in our physical bodies. Tribulations are distressing and affliction that comes with being a Christian. Job was a man that loved God and he hated what God hated, but because of his faithfulness to God, Satan wanted to attack him. God allowed Satan to afflict him. God didn’t allow Satan to afflict Job because He hated him, but to show Satan and Job his faithfulness to God.

Satan thought Job was serving God only because of the blessings God had given him. He thought if God took his blessings away, Job would no longer serve God, so He allowed Satan to attack him. Could it be what you’re going through is to prove to you and Satan who you are in God? Satan doesn’t attack those who are already serving him, he attacks those that are going somewhere in God. Know if God allowed whatever you’re going through, it will work together for your good no matter what it is or how long you have been in it.

Daniel was a man of God and because of his faithful prayer life, he had people who wanted to stop him from praying, so they went to the king and had him to make a decree that no one should ask anything of their god or man for 30 days unless they would be thrown into the lion den. Although Daniel knew of the decree, he didn’t allow the decree to stop him from praying. Faith doesn’t come only through hearing the Word of God, but through prayer is faith established. The more you pray and receive answered prayers, it increases your faith in God. Daniel placed his trust in God and not in the lions. As we pray and our faith grows, tribulations will not hinder or block us from praying. It will not stop us from being kind and loveable as we go through our tribulation because we know that God is on our side and if He’s with us, we’re coming out with the victory.

Don’t think because you became a Christian, you will not suffer or go through tribulations, this kind of thinking or teaching is not Biblical. Every man or woman of God will go through some painful moments, just as Jesus suffered, we too will suffer, but through our suffering as we honor God and the praises are still in our mouth, love and kindness is flowing through our hearts, we’re giving God the glory and those that know you and what you’re going through will know it’s the power of God that is allowing you to go through what you’re going through without trying to take vengeance or blaming God but see it as another weapon God is placing on you to defeat the enemy.

We’re a soldier in the army of the Lord whether we’re male or female. A soldier is a person of war. As a soldier, we cannot be caught up with worldly things because we will not have the strength to fight (No man that warreth entangled himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be soldier – 2^nd Timothy 2:4).   A soldier has to be prepared at all times because he or she never knows when a war make a breakout. Sometimes God allows tribulations to come to teach us how to fight. You will never know how to fight if you have never been in a fight. A soldier fights not only for himself but for his country.  A country can be a nation, government, state, neighborhood, an individual or people. In order to receive the armor, test and tribulations come to make us strong in the spirit.

When a test or trial comes, God knows what He is doing or allowing. Whatever you’re going through, seek God to see if the tribulation is coming from Him or something you have done. If it comes from Him, God is doing a work in you to create you more in the image of Himself, if the test or trial is from God, it will not kill you, but it will kill what is influencing you, what is trying to kill, steal and destroy you.

As a soldier, you cannot be jelly back, you can’t be fearful of what people will say or do. You can’t be controlled by people, but be controlled by the Fruit of the Spirit; love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. Allow the Spirit of God to control your emotions, ask Him to make His kingdom in your emotions, in your thoughts this will allow you to be controlled by God and not the tribulation.

Without tribulations you will never experience God the way He attends for you to encounter, you will never know what God can do for you if you never have a trial or tribulation. God is greater than any trial or tribulation you may go through, except the tribulation, don’t run to the world and be entangled again with bondage, but run to God through prayer, fasting, and reading His Word, believe God is going to bring you out as you keep your mind on Him. On our way to heaven, we will encounter many trials and tribulations, but the Lord is always there to take us through if we place our trust in Him.