The apostle Paul found that his positive reactions to the distresses in his life gave other Christians the courage to fearlessly share the Gospel of Jesus with others (Philippians 1:14). God can use our misfortunes to do the same thing in the life of those around us.
Negative issues are not obstacles, but they are designed by God as blessings in disguise. Jesus promised us that in this world we would definitely experience trials and tribulation, but then He said some strange words, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33).
Jesus won the war against sin and death, so we can enjoy victory through Him. Every example of a Believer in the Bible is a living testimony for us that God is not looking for perfect people, but for humble people who will trust Him to do a work in us and through us (Psalm 34:2).
One man, Job, is the example for us that God blesses His children abundantly, regardless of our trials in life. The apostle Paul suffered shipwreck, jail, beatings, stoning, and being lost at sea, but He always clung to God’s promises (2 Corinthians 11:24-25; Romans 8:18). Through every episode, He sang praises to God (Philippians 1:14).
When Satan wanted to sift Peter like wheat (Luke 22:21-32), Jesus prayed for Him to persevere and to serve as an example to us of God’s power in spite of our circumstances. Peter ended up lying about His affiliation with Jesus, but his repentance brought Him full restitution in His fellowship with God (Matthew 26:75; Acts 2:38).
Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery, but God used their evil intent to provide for Joseph’s whole family during a drawn-out time of famine in the land. The Lord was with Joseph every step of the way, and He is always with us too (Genesis 39; Hebrews 13:5).
Prayer:
Father God, although we often experience trials that are more than we can bear in our human resources, they are not more than we can endure as we keep our focus on You and Your goodness to always make everything work out for our eventual good (Romans 8:28; 1 Corinthians 10:12-13; John 16:33).
We are either in a trial, coming out of a trial, or about to enter a trial. You often remove some of our trials when we walk in Your ways by Your Spirit; however, You do test our faith with them and use them to prove Your faithfulness to us. Your grace is always sufficient to help us through any negative event in our life (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Thoughts for the Day:
God uses our trials to strengthen our faith, as well as our persistence in perseverance, and to increase our reliance on Him. He also uses us in trials to glorify Him because when people see our trust in Him through everything they are more likely to trust Him in the challenging events in their life too (Matthew 5:16).
