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Learn from the Holy BibleOctober,14 2022Have you learned to take a long-term look at your short-term problems?
Whenever something frustrating happens, don't immediately become upset. Instead, ask yourself if this problem is really worth getting aggravated over: is this a five-minute problem, a five-hour problem, a five-month problem, or a five-year problem?
For example, if you can't find where you left your car keys around your house, don't let that steal your love, joy, peace, or patience. Being five minutes late to most things is not worth losing your joy. Similarly, don't let that ruin your Fruit of the Spirit if you're stuck in a traffic jam. It's not worth getting upset and uptight about a ten-minute delay on your way to work. Indeed, ten minutes is nothing compared to all of eternity.
Also, remember that God may use your short-term problem for a long-term purpose. That's why James 1:2-4 says, "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." God will work through your current trials and difficulties to produce lasting benefits such as faith, perseverance, and spiritual maturity. That's why it's important to take a long-term look at your short-term problems.
We want to be spiritually grown but don't like growing because growing hurts.
Growing up can be painful. For example, some children have "growing pains" because of their rapid growth.
This can also be true spiritually. Specifically, God may stretch you by putting uncomfortable circumstances in your life. Why? He uses the hard times to stretch your faith, patience, and love. This stretching causes growth: " For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (2 Corinthians 4:17).
In other words, God uses the difficult circumstances in your life to cause you to grow closer to Him. If you look back over your life, you'll probably notice that the times you grew the most spiritually were often the times that were the most difficult.
If you fight against the hard circumstances in your life, you will never fully grow up. So, instead of fighting against life, take the advice of James 1:2-4: " 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."
Decide to press on and go through so that your faith may grow. Go through the hard times in life trusting God, and then you will grow to be "mature and complete, not lacking anything."
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The Western Archdiocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch,
providing spiritual guidance and leadership to the Syriac Orthodox
community, is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit, tax-exempt organization
comprised of 18 churches and parishes in 17 western states. It was
established in 1952 as the Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church
encompassing the entire United States and Canada. In November 1995 by
the Holy Synod, the Western Archdiocese was formed to exclusively
serve the 17 states of the western half United States.
417 E. Fairmount Rd., Burbank, CA 91501
Tel: (818) 845-5089 Fax: (818) 953-7203
E-mail: bishopric@soc-wus.org
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