Eight spiritual steps toward increasing your trust in God when we are going through tough times, and overcoming adversity with the Spirit of God.
Step 1: Turn to God
Realize that you don’t have what it takes in your own strength to overcome adversity. It is not by your own strength or power, but by the Spirit of God that we will overcome our difficulties. Turn to Jesus. Don’t shut down, don’t freak out, and don’t isolate yourself from those who can help you. Turn to Jesus. He said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5) If you have sinned, go to confession and turn back to Jesus. We overcome adversity by allowing God to go before us. God is the fighter of our battles. He never expects you to fight the battles alone. He knows that you need the power of His Spirit. He has promised us His spirit to be with us until the end of time. Trust God and allow Him to work His timing in your life, because God has a plan and purpose for all things (Romans 8:25). Jesus defeated death with the cross. He defeated adversity before you and I ever had to face it in our lives. We need to have faith in the Lord, in His word, and live His word in our life. Have faith in what he has told us to do through scripture.
Step 2: Cast all of your Cares Upon Him
Casting all of your cares on Jesus is a spiritual step toward freedom. Scripture says “Cast all you care on Him for he cares for you. Give your adversity to Him (1 Peter 5:7).” Give your worries to Him. One prayer session may not be enough. Every time you experience fear or anxiety or adversity, think about a scripture saying to help you get through you fears. Over and over again, cast your cares and give Jesus your adversity, your fear, your troubles.
Step 3: Fill Yourself with God’s Word
Fill yourself up with God’s word. Don’t disconnect from God. This is not the time to turn away from God…but read God’s word .This is when you need God the most. Avoid isolation, when difficulty happens we tend to want to isolate ourselves and we may become depressed. This is when we need God the most. We need to occupy our mind and soul with God’s Word. Scripture says, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, power and a sound mind (1 Tim 1:7).”
Step 4: Surrender Yourself to God
… And resist the devil. God becomes your commander. God is in charge. You release your will to Him and let His will govern your actions, your situation, and your entire life. You also release the outcome of adversity to Him. It is not your way, but God’s way. You must also resist the devil and any temptation that he presents to you to avoid God’s will. Resisting the devil means saying, “Get behind me, Satan!” Do not be reluctant to shout this to him! Paul said that God has a divine purpose behind all adversity. What is happening in your life is part of God’s Divine Purpose.
Step 5: Use Scripture to Deal with each situation
Use scripture to deal with any adversity that comes into your life. For example: “I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me.” Find a scripture that will help you deal with your situation and read it, pray it, think it, and say it over and over again. This will help confirm your belief that God is present with you and that He will guide and take care of you. This will give you strength.
Step 6: Let Faith Fight for You
Use your faith to battle against your adversity- fight through. Go back to what you know, what you have been taught. That God is with you and will help you in any situation. He is with us until the end of time. Now is the time to use what we know and what we have been taught. Go to Mass, Adoration, Confession. This will help you focus on your relationship with the Lord. Allow the Lord to work through other the sacraments, adoration receive the Eucharist. etc.
Step 7: Pray! Talk to God
Let your spirit talk with God. Prayer is absolutely crucial to building up your relationship with the Lord so that you will have more faith in Him. Even if you don’t feel Him responding, trust that He is listening and persevere with prayer. Pray until you get an answer. Be persistent in Prayer. Have conversations with the Lord. Talk to him as if he is your Best Friend. He is your best friend. In Hebrews 13:5 Paul writes, The Lord said he will never forsake you.
Step 8: Receive the Sacraments to Strengthen You
When we receive Jesus in the Eucharist, He enters our body, allowing us to become more like Him. , more Christ-Like. The more we receive Jesus, literally, the more he is present in our physical body. We may not be able to overcome a situation on our own, but by becoming more and more Christ-like, we can. Furthermore, confession is an incredible experience where we repair our relationship with God, humbling ourselves before Him and enabling us to grow closer to Him. Without the sacraments, we have a very limited relationship with God and we will not be as able to overcome difficulties without Him.
