Professor Trouble

Let your hope make you glad.  Be patient in time of trouble and never stop praying.

Romans 12:12, NIV

Professor Trouble is an interesting teacher. He has a Ph.D. in Panic, hysteria, and Despair. He shakes us to the core and reminds us we are not in control. He leads us down the corridors of unnamed fears, unlimited ways to worry, and renewed self-doubt. He overloads us with rhetoric and causes us to feel weak and alone. He makes an enormous effort to distract us in every negative way possible, and all the while, pounds away at our thread of hope. Why do we listen to him?

This short verse from Romans suggests we might take another view.  We might drop his class altogether if we just signed up for a different course. Professor Trouble has an adversary. In fact, he’s out of his league, no longer serving as the dean of difficulty. He succumbs to prayer. When we pray with great fervor because we believe so well in the hope that springs forth from our faith, trouble slips away.  He loses his grip on our hearts and minds. 

So, what might we learn if we prayed our way through adversity? No doubt, we’d have to sign up for a course in patience. Hope might come in as an advanced degree. Possibility would look brighter and open our eyes to something new. 

Divine hope is forever a gift to the child of God. No amount of trouble can take it from you.  Don’t log in to your old teacher, Professor Trouble. Just trust the hope and strength and peace you receive in prayer.  Adversity may win a round or two, but it will never extinguish the light of your spirit. God will see you through to a new day and you’re sure to graduate with flying colors.