Trials often assail us on every side. Beaten down and discouraged, we feel hopeless, helpless, disenfranchised and alone. A rift in relationships, a loss of our vocation, etc. feels like the end of our life as we know it.
However,
it is simply the end of one chapter, and the beginning of a whole new chapter
of our life, especially if we are walking in the center of God's will for us.
Trials
open the door to more intimacy and dependence on our Father God. We turn our face to the Son and soak up His encouragement,
exhortation, peace, joy and blessings (Isaiah 26:3).
We see an example of how to handle our
trials by examining the life of the Apostle Paul. Even
after false accusations, caning, public embarrassment and being thrown in jail,
he and his companion, Silas, sang praises to God to their hearts' content (Acts
16:16-28).
God shook the earth as they praised
Him, the prison chains fell off, and the doors popped wide open. Rather than to
harbor hatred or anger toward the jailer, Paul and Silas had compassion on him;
and a revival broke out around that jail when people witnessed God's miraculous
event.
Then the jailer had compassion on God's
men. He took them home, cleaned their wounds and fed them a meal (Acts
16:29-34). During trials that would normally depress and devastate unsaved
people, God always provides for His Saints.
We can glorify our Lord through our
testimony and actions, just like Paul and Silas did. As God proves to us His
faithfulness, our faith in Him grows and we find our security under the shadow
of His wings (Psalm 91:4).
Prayer:
Father God, thank You for giving us
Your joy when we face trials of any kind, for building up our faith and our
patience, and for giving us Your hope through it all (James 1:2-3; Romans
5:3-5). We praise You for Your comforting presence within us, no matter what
life throws at us. Teach us to praise You for the bad times, as well as the good
times (Philippians 4:4-8).
We believe in You, but we also need You
to help our unbelief at times (Mark 9:24). Deep burdens assail us, big
challenges detain us, and hardships attempt to overcome us. However, with Your
Trinity abiding within us, we can face any trial with the assurance that You
are working out every part of it for our ultimate good (Romans 8:28).
Thought
for the Day:
We do not always feel joyful in our
tribulation, but we can always find our joy in the Lord, who walks with us
through the midst of every trial and fills us with His joy and peace. -
Philippians 4:4-7
