How can I make the most of my circumstances? - Circumstances - TouchPoints

Jeremiah 17:7-8“But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.”

Trust in the Lord; he is worthy of your hope and confidence. Those who trust in the Lord reap the benefits of his life-sustaining power.

Esther 4:13-14Mordecai sent this reply to Esther: “Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed. If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?”

God can use you as you are. Start with who you are and what you have, not with who you wish you were and what you don’t have. Seek to obey God in your current circumstances. Mordecai told Esther that God had placed her in a difficult circumstance to do something great for him (in this case, save her people from being slaughtered). God may have you in your current circumstance for “such a time as this.” Seek what God wants you to do, and respond in obedience.

James 1:2-3Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.

You can experience joy and growth in difficult circumstances. Plants continue to grow even on cloudy days. Life can continue to flourish under cloudy circumstances.

Acts 16:23, 25-31, 33-34[Paul and Silas] were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. . . . Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here!” The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” . . . He and everyone in his household were immediately baptized. He brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God.

You can glorify God even in the most difficult of circumstances. When you do, two wonderful things happen: you learn to rely on God and not yourself, and others may be blessed by seeing your faith and hope in action.