|
Any ill-timed or misdirected effort made in such
circumstances will bring about a miscarriage of God's dealings. When people come
crying to us in the midst of an ordeal, let us pray for great wisdom to discern
whether this is:
1) dealings of God,
2) self-induced trouble they have brought
on themselves, or
3) attacks of Satan not within God's will.
Response To
Trials
1) If It Is God's Dealings: Submit. If it is God's dealings, help them to
"Submit [themselves] to God" (Jas 4:7) and
draw on His grace to go through the trial
victoriously.
2) If It Is Self-Induced; Learn. If it
is S.I.T. (Self-Induced Trouble), try to
help them learn from the problems they've
brought on themselves.
3) If It Is An Attack Of Satan:
Fight. If it is satanic attack beyond God's
will, then go to battle for them and resist
the devil. "He will flee from you" (Jas 4:7).
Trouble Tests Our
Faith
In God's Word
"Every word of God is purified... "
(Prov 30:5 lit). "The words of the Lord
are pure [purified] words, as silver tried
in a furnace of earth, purified seven
times" (Ps 12:6).
Compare these verses with Psalm
105:19, "Until the time that his [Joseph's]
word came, the word of the Lord tried
him. "
Joseph spent somewhere between ten
and twelve years in an Egyptian prison for
refusing Potiphar's wife the adulterous relationship she sought. She falsely accused
him of trying to rape her. For this, Joseph
spent many years suffering for righteousness' sake. God had promised to make him
a ruler. What do you think ten or twelve years in prison would do to a leader
who had a promise like that? I know what it would do to me. It would frustrate
and distress me beyond belief. Yet, God allowed Joseph's situation. Why? So the
word of the Lord to him could be "tested like silver, tried in a furnace...
purified seven times " (Ps 12:6). Every great man of God endured a fiery trial
as a result of hearing instructions from God. The process of trying to implement
what God said became very costly for them.
Noah was told to build an ark. It
resulted in the people scoffing and mocking him. Only his family and some of the
animals were saved.
Home
|
For all
occasions....
