Slideshow image

The following blog is a summary of a message preached by Pastor Eddie Lawrence.

Watch the Sermon HERE!

Life will bring drama. That much is certain. But what you do with it determines whether you walk through it or get buried by it. Here are four practical, faith-based encouragements to help you respond well when things go wrong.

What Does the Bible Say About Facing Trials?

James opens his letter with a challenge that cuts right to the heart of how we handle difficulty:

"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." - James 1:2-4

Notice James says when you fall into trials, not if. Hard seasons are not a surprise to God. They are part of the journey. And how you respond to them matters far more than most people realize.

The word "count" here is like a bookkeeping term. It means to decide ahead of time. Before the trial even arrives, you settle it: this is going to be joy for me. That is not denial. That is faith.

Why Your Response to Problems Creates More Problems

Drama may visit you. You may have a date with it. But you do not have to marry it.

The way you respond to what is happening around you will not just shape your day. It will shape your life. A wrong response does not just end the moment. It plants a seed that grows into something bigger.

This is what the Bible calls the law of sowing and reaping:

"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that He will also reap." - Galatians 6:7

How to Stop Funding Your Own Future Failures

1. Recognize That Every Response Is a Seed

When you respond out of anger, bitterness, or frustration, you are not just reacting. You are investing. You are sowing seeds that will produce a harvest. A seed of anger grows more anger. A seed of bitterness grows more bitterness.

Just because you are having a bad day does not mean you have to respond in a way that turns it into a bad week, a bad month, or a bad year.

The enemy will work overtime looking for your pressure points. When he finds one, he will push hard to get you to detonate and blow something up. Do not give him that satisfaction.

What Does It Mean to Walk by Faith and Not by Feelings?

2. Let Faith Lead, Not Emotions

We are emotional beings. Feelings are not bad. But they make terrible leaders.

"And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men." - Colossians 3:23

When drama is swirling and emotions are running high, the question is not how do you feel about this situation. The question is who do you serve? Your decisions should be based on that answer, not on what feels right in the moment.

Think of it like a train. Faith is the locomotive. Feelings are the caboose. When faith leads, your emotions come into proper alignment. When feelings lead, things go off the rails.

Jesus Himself was full of emotion. He wept. He rejoiced. He was joyful to be around. But He was never ruled by His emotions. He was led by the Spirit. That is the model.

How Bitterness and Offense Can Derail Your Faith

3. Evict the Villains From Your Head

A lot of the drama we experience is not just external. It lives in our minds.

"Looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled." - Hebrews 12:15

Bitterness is one of the enemy's most effective tools. It wraps itself around your heart, builds a wall, and slowly makes you untouchable. People start backing away and you may not even realize why.

There are countless people who once loved God, served faithfully, and were active in their church who are now completely disconnected from fellowship. Not because of a crisis of theology. Because someone hurt them and they never let it go.

They would not quit their job because a coworker offended them. They would not drop out of school because a classmate was unkind. But they walked away from God and His people because of an unhealed wound.

Bitterness deceives you. It tells you that holding on protects you. It does not. It destroys you.

The answer is not willpower. It is the renewing of your mind through God's Word. Find the lie. Replace it with truth. Let the Holy Spirit do the deep work of uprooting what has taken hold.

What Can Suffering and Trials Teach You About God?

4. Earn Your Master's Degree From Adversity University

This is exactly what James is pointing to. If you walk through trials the right way, God will use them to make you more whole, more complete, lacking nothing.

When Jesus told Peter that Satan desired to sift Him like wheat, He did not say He would stop it from happening. He said:

"I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren." - Luke 22:32

Jesus knew the trial was coming. He did not remove it. He prayed that Peter's faith would hold. And on the other side of that failure, Peter became someone who could strengthen others who were going through the same thing.

God will take the very area the enemy tried to use to destroy you and turn it into a testimony. The place of your greatest failure can become the place of your greatest ministry, if you will pass the test.

A Story About Counting It All Joy

There is a moment that captures this beautifully. A Father was up in the middle of the night cleaning up after His sick seven-year-old son. Exhausted, frustrated, and overwhelmed, he was moaning and complaining in the dark. Then his little boy, lying on a pallet with a stuffed-up nose from his stomach virus, said out loud:

"I'm sure glad the Lord made me with two nose holes."

That child, in the middle of his misery, found something to be grateful for. He was counting it joy. Meanwhile, the adult in the room, the one who knew the theology, was doing the opposite.

That is the kind of childlike, bedrock trust in the goodness of God that carries you through the midnight hours. Not because everything makes sense. Not because the feelings agree. But because you know God is good and He is not finished yet.

Life Application

This week, pay attention to how you respond when things go wrong. Before you react to a frustrating situation, a difficult person, or an unexpected trial, pause and ask yourself what seed you are about to plant. Choose to respond from faith rather than from feeling.

Here are a few questions to sit with:

  • Is there an area of my life where I have been sowing seeds of anger, bitterness, or resentment without realizing it?
  • Am I holding onto an offense that has taken root and is quietly defiling my relationships or my walk with God?
  • When trials come, do I respond with trust in God's goodness, or do I let my emotions take the lead?
  • What would it look like this week to count it all joy, even in one difficult moment?

God is not wasting what you are going through. He is using it. The question is whether you will let patience do its perfect work so that you come out on the other side more whole, more complete, and ready to strengthen someone else who is walking the same road.