November is normally the kickoff month for the holidays. Many people look forward to gathering with friends and family for Thanksgiving dinners, watching football, and starting their holiday shopping. It’s a time when people like to count their blessings and be more intentional about giving thanks. However, for others, it’s not a time of joy but rather a time of sadness, loneliness, or financial struggle. It’s easy for many of us to give thanks when things are going good in our lives, but what about when things aren’t going so great? We are quick to feel defeated and giving thanks may be the last thing we feel like doing. Paul states in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus”. You may be wondering, “Well, how can I be happy, pray, and give thanks to the Lord when I’m going through the storm”? Although this may seem like a daunting or even impossible task, God wants us to do it. He wants us to see a beneficial purpose to every trial and have an inward sense of joy and peace that only comes from him.
About 12 years ago, before I had given my life to God, I was a complete and total mess. I had no purpose in life and no sense of direction. I was just living to have a good time. Well, my lifestyle finally caught up with me. I went to court and just knew in my heart things were not going to go in my favor, and I had to suffer the consequences of my selfish and senseless actions. I had to endure the hardest trial I ever faced in my life: incarceration while pregnant. Yes, you heard me right. By the time I was sentenced, I was 6 months pregnant and had to serve a 9-month sentence, which meant I would have to have my baby in prison. It was a hard pill to swallow. I felt every emotion possible rolled into one. I had no idea how I was going to survive this. How was I going to leave my 2 older sons behind, but also bring my baby into this world alone? It was at this point in my life that I had reached rock bottom, and the only place I could look was up. It was during this storm that I surrendered my life to God and said, “God, I don’t know what’s going to come of this, but I trust you”. What should’ve been the scariest time of my life turned into a season of peace and trust. It was during this trial that I developed an intimate relationship with the Lord and grew closer to Him than I ever had before. Right after I had my son, I was accepted into a program where I got to keep my baby while incarcerated and learn life, parenting, and recovery skills. This was literally a blessing in disguise. What the enemy meant for evil, God turned it for good. When I was released from the program six months later, I came back home, reunited with my family, started attending church, got baptized, married my husband, finished my degree, and began my newfound life in Christ. God gave me a purpose, a sense of direction in life, and most of all, gave me beauty for ashes. It was in this trial that I learned to rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in ALL circumstances. I want to encourage you ladies to do the same because in the midst of the storm, we may not always see the bigger picture, but we must trust that God is working it all out for our good and for his glory.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything”. James 1:2-4
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation“. Psalm 100:4-5
We want to thank Angelina Alvarado for sharing this post.
Women's Ministry 