WHEN YOU ARE FACED WITH TESTS AND TRIALS

A minister once came to me who had had some things happen in his life which had robbed him of his peace. He was greatly disturbed and couldn't sleep at night. He couldn't eat and keep his food down. He came to me because he believed I could help him. I think he wanted me to pray all of his troubles away. He was being sued by someone over an automobile accident, and he didn't know just what the outcome would be. He knew it could ruin him if he lost the case.

I am sure he had not slept for at least three days when he came to me. He looked haggard and worn out. I got my Amplified translation and read Philippians 4:6 and 7 to him. The best way I could help even though he was a preacher, was to tell him what the Bible says. That made him mad. He said, "Oh, everybody doesn't have as much faith as you. I can't do that." I said, "Why, yes, you can. You have come to me for help, and I am just telling you what I do when I'm faced with tests and trials. I have been in troublesome situations before, too, and this is what I do. I just follow the instructions!

"I refuse to worry about it, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, I let my requests be made known unto God. And I always receive the very thing you are seeking - the peace of God which passes all understanding." He simmered down a bit and then said, "Just how do you do it?" I said, "Do you have an Amplified Bible? In the Amplified translation the meaning is clearer. I just get on my knees with my Bible opened to this scripture, and I say, `Now, Lord, this is Your Word. And You say that you can't lie. The Psalmist said, "For ever, 0 Lord, thy word is settled in heaven" [Ps. 119:89]. So I refuse to worry and be fretful about this. I bring this to You, Lord.

This is a care and an anxiety. Peter said, "Casting the whole of your care - all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all - on Him ..." [1 Peter 5:7]. So I'm casting my care upon You.'" I then referred this minister to First Peter 5:7. You would think that preachers would know this verse is in the Bible, wouldn't you? Then I went on to say to him, "So when I'm faced with difficult circumstances, I pray to the Lord, `Lord, I cast this care over on You. Now I am going to sleep. And tomorrow I am going to eat, too, because I have the peace that passes all understanding.' Then I get into bed and go to sleep."

This minister then asked, "Well, are you ever troubled?" I answered, "Yes, sometimes I have to go back a time or two in prayer and repeat this to the Lord for my own benefit. Then my mind begins to grow quiet because I give place to the Word instead of to worry. When I give place to the Word my spirit begins to dominate me. This peace will come as you walk in genuine faith, doing what the Bible says to do because God said this peace would guard or garrison both your mind and your spirit."

There have been times when I have cast all of my cares upon the Lord, and after falling off to sleep, for some reason or another I was awakened. The minute I was awakened, the devil brought to my mind again the critical situation I was facing at the time. Do you know what I did when that happened? (This is a part of receiving the peace beyond all understanding.) I just started laughing right out loud. Right in the nighttime I would just burst out laughing. That is beyond our understanding or natural human reasoning, but the Lord always took care of the situation.

How in the world could a person laugh right in the midst of trouble? Yet when you have this peace, you can laugh right in the face of trouble - even death. After I was healed and raised off a deathbed, there was a time when death came and tried to fasten itself upon my body. I started laughing. The devil said to me, "What are you laughing at?" I said, "Well, you said I was going to die, but I'm not. I'm going to live. I'm not going to die. I'm going to live." If you try to tell most people they can laugh in the midst of trouble because of the peace of God that's within, they can't understand it. (If you have been to the place where you stood your ground when your faith was severely tried and challenged, you can understand it. But if you haven't, it would probably be hard for you to understand it.) (Kenneth Hagin)