God equips you to conquer the trials.

by Johnny Destacamento

Romans 12:1-2

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Brothers and sisters, when I received a message from Bro Rommel last week, asking me to be one of the sharers in today’s gathering, I immediately said yes. When everything sinked in, I asked myself “Hala! What will I share?” Or how should I present my life story in such a way that it would make an impact to everybody? Plenty of ideas had then bombarded my mind but I wasn’t able to write anything bisag INTRO nalang.Oh dba?Ing ana kadaghan akong ideas. It was then that I realized that I should not be here to preach or to teach but I will just share it with all my heart and trust God that He will reveal Himself through His works on me.

Brothers and sisters! When we make a decision to serve the Lord, we are also offering ourselves to be used by God in His greater glory. Thus, each and every one of us here have our own accounts on how God entrusted us with TRIALS. It’s entwined on us and it became part of our lives. Ingon pa sa drama sa radyo, “ Sa atong pagkahimugso niining kalibutana, gikaluhaan na tang daan sa atong suliran”. It’s true brothers and sisters! I can attest to it. In fact, I was still very young when I experienced trials. I grew up in a family that’s not well-off. My father is a farmer and we basically relied on the share of the harvest because the land that we tilted was not ours. Their income was not sufficient and that college education back then seems impossible because they can only afford to send us up to high school. Life became even harder when my father died when I was 11 years old. I have to experience working on the farm at a very young age. I didn’t enjoy much of my childhood as my friends do. If college education was impossible when my father was still around, how much more this time? I started to feel that my future is uncertain and it seems hopeless. But despite the desperations that I felt, my mother was always there to remind me that these are just trials and that God is watching over us. She’s a prayer warrior. She’s the kind of person who would knock heaven’s doors through her prayers. True enough, there will always be answers to our prayers. I finished high school through a scholarship program sponsored by German nationals and during that time, scholarship opportunities are very rare especially in the province. I finished college through a scholarship program sponsored by the late Ricardo Cardinal Vidal and Indiana Aerospace University. 

Brothers and sisters, when it rains, it pours! God gives us more than what we deserve. When I look back at those moments of uncertainty, those moments of hopelessness, those moments when it seems so dark, I can't help but smile and say “sakto gyud si mama, God is always there, He will never leave us. All we have to do is to lift up all unto Him and trust in His ways”. Sometimes, we tend to ask Him, Lord why me? Brothers and sisters, this is what I realized, God entrusted us with trials. It is given for a purpose. When we are faced with trials, it reveals our identity. How strong or how weak we are in terms of our faith. Trials are there to humble us, it is there to teach us to value God’s blessings, it is there to call us to eternal and heavenly hope, it wean us from our dependence on worldly things, and it is there to better help others in their trials.

Brothers and sisters, when we are in the darkest moments of our lives, we are given by God an opportunity to shine and be a light not only for ourselves but also for others. Before pandemic, we made it a routine to spend the holy week back home since Sis Riza and I were in the same place. Every time we passed by our neighbors, they would always say that I am so lucky daw because of what I have right now. It made them inspired, it give them a glimpse of hope that like me, their children can make it as I do. They saw how God transformed me into what I am right now. I didn’t just grow in wisdom but I grow in faith. How grateful I am to God brothers and sisters. 

Trials are there for a purpose. Just lately, we’ve been through a lot. We lost 3 good souls in the family. My brother Lito, the one closest to me, died last November at the age of 46. Three months later, my other brother suffered a stroke and eventually died. And just the same month, the wife of my brother Lito was diagnosed with leukemia. She fought with it for five months but lost her battle. Last April, three of us in my household (me, my sister and my nephew) were contacted with COVID-19. Lord, that’s a lot! Struggle is real!We were emotionally, mentally and financially drained. Every time magkita mi ni Bro Rommel virtually, He would always say how strong I am because positive ra ghapon akong panglantaw. Honestly I'm hurting but I'm holding on to my faith. And thank you HCC for being there for us in these trying times. The community took the role that my mother used to play in reminding me constantly that there is God. Thank you for the love HCC. I still do not know the lessons or the purpose of all of these, whether it’s there to transform me, to change me, to teach me a lesson? I still don’t have an answer to that but I trust in Him. That at the end of these trials, I would just smile and once again thank Him for using me as His instrument.

Brothers and sisters, when God entrusted us with trials, let us be reminded  that God is working on us and most especially God is working WITH us. Good afternoon brothers and sisters!