Tag: Trials

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Living right does not exempt us from testing, it invites it

God strips us for various reasons. He can even strip us of what we have to get our attention and pull us to Himself when we have wandered off. 

One of the reasons God exposed Job to the devil was to increase him. Contrary to popular belief, misfortune does befall the obedient.

Job was proceeding well in his Christian walk because he wasn’t being tested. When he was, he questioned God and sinned. Sometimes we are “good believers” due to the Lord not permitting any tests our way. We spend time with the Lord blissfully and once we interact with the world, we find ourselves getting offended at a snarky remark or hastily giving into anger when the Word instructs us to be slow to it.

Job felt that so long as he lived right, no testing should befall him. He trusted in his righteousness instead of the Lord. He felt that God was being unjust (Job 9 :22-24) Joseph on the contrary,  fled  Portipher’s wife’s seduction and yet was incarcerated. God left him there for yrs even though he was innocent, however, he dared not question or complain against  God. Living right does not exempt us from testing, it invites it. 

Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego(The three Hebrew boys) uttered the famous words “our God will deliver us but even if he doesn’t we will not bow” ( Daniel 3 : 17-18) This is what Job lacked. He felt that his righteousness should exempt and disqualify him for testing but the 3 Hebrew boys said “even if he doesn’t deliver us, we won’t bow”. They trusted in the Lord regardless of the outcome.

Testing shows where our trust lies. It exposes us.

Some people upon witnessing how the Lord took us through the fire and brought us out unscathed, or at least hear that He did, believe in His existence. Our testimonies are potent in giving people a taste of the reality of our God. The Lord calls us to be His witnesses. What is a witness? According to Merriam-webster disctionary it is:

  • 1  attestation of a fact or event : testimony
  • 2
  • : one that gives evidence
  • specifically : one who testifies in a cause or before a judicial tribunal
  • 3
  • : one asked to be present at a transaction so as to be able to testify to its having taken place
  • 4
  • : one who has personal knowledge of something

As it pertains to believers, we share about the Lord, our testimonies and how we have seen that the “God of the Bible” is truly who He says He is. He performed this in my life or so and so’s life.I saw it.

King Darius recognized that Daniel’s God is the true living God when he survived the lions. 

Sometimes, issues that the Lord permits are typically enduring due to the Lord having an end goal. He is seeking to accomplish something.The capacity of the Lord to utilize a life surrendered in faith is beyond human comprehension. The Bible says those that know their God shall do exploits(Dan 11:32), not those who believe in the Lord. Consider Daniel. His faith in God changed the worship of an entire kingdom! ( Daniel 6: 26).No church, nor group of believers were present.The Lord accomplished this through one man . Additionally, we observe this in Paul’s life as well.When he was on the island of Malta he was bitten by a venomous serpent that should have ended his life. The Lord permitted this because the inhabitants of that island knew the type of species the serpent was.Needless to say, it opened the door for the gospel to be preached and for souls to be won. Such narratives are replete in the body of Christ.

Furthermore, Paul and Barnabas were scourged and through that painful, agonizing encounter, the jailer and his family were saved. On the tv program, The 700 club, a story was narrated of a group of young men who travelled to an island where the Word had never been preached before. Lamentably, the men were killed by the inhabitants of that island. However, today, the descendants of those martyrs are preaching on that island. The people who murdered the young men received salvation; however, what paved way for this salvation were the valiant young men who were on fire for God and wanted to take the Gospel where it had not been heard. I can recall the story of a prominent pastor in the body of Christ who took the gospel to an Islamic state. He and his team were severely battered anand bruised and he inquired of the Lord if they should depart and go home. The Lord exhorted them to stay and today, they have been able to establish a church there. 

 Misunderstanding the ways of the Lord yields errors in judgment. Unbeknownst to Job, he was being prepared to receive a deeper revelation of the Lord. He concluded after the Lord questioned him “ truly I spoke of things I have not known”(Job 42:3). Some revelations and increases do not come through fasting or praying but through overcoming testing. Job is  testament of this. 

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Trials, tribulation and afflictions

The life of the believer is one that is not without trials, afflictions and tribulations. The Lord even guaranteed that we will face trouble in this world(John 16:33). Sometimes we make the error of telling the unsaved that if they follow Jesus Christ then all trouble will cease in their lives; that everything in their lives will go smoothly. We even have church songs that validate this fallacy saying, “there are no troubles when God is near”. However, scripture states otherwise. The Lord has not promised to keep us from trouble. He thrusts us into it, knowing that He has overcome the world. He has called us to overcome. The Bible says He has given us an overwhelming victory(Rom 8:37) however that is our spiritual standing. We have to walk it out. 

We are called overcomers, yet in the book of Revelations we are told repeatedly that “he who overcomes…” and a reward will be given such a one. So we are to overcome whatever that we face to win the reward. 

The pursuit of a righteous lifestyle is not a mechanism for the avoidance of trials, nor should it be utilized as such, for such an endeavor shall prove futile. One must adhere to a path of rectitude solely to honor the Lord and to submit fully to His divine Lordship. Trials remain a distinct and inevitable phenomenon that shall manifest regardless of one’s personal conduct

​It is profoundly distressing to encounter adversity despite having exhausted every effort to prevent its occurrence

This may be the believer suffering from lung cancer yet they haven’t smoked a day in their life. Or the married couple struggling to conceive yet walked in purity in the days of courtship and  have honored their marital vows. Nevertheless, the grace of the Lord is sufficient for us.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers him out of them all(Psa 34:19). The Lord desires us to have experiential knowledge of His Word and not to merely quote scripture. When we face trials and see the Word cause a shift, a resolve is forged in us. Our faith in the Word deepens. It is an error to think that living right and walking in obedience exempts us from trials. Job received a good report from the Lord yet he was sifted by the enemy. 

With that said, the enemy goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour(1 Peter 5:8). He cannot devour everybody. As believers we will face the enemy until the day we leave this earth. We don’t even have to do anything for him to attack us; we are to trust that whatever attack the Lord permits will be used for our good.

Some benefits of trials and tribulations

  • They produce patience
  • They bring us closer to the Lord
  • We can be anointed by what we go through so that others can be set free through us
  • They bring us closer to the Lord
  • They strengthen our trust in God
  • We grow through them
  • They make us unshakeable and not easily moved 
  • The Lord can use them to prepare us for our destiny
  • They can equip us with compassion for those going through what we went through
  • The Lord can expose the enemy’s wiles and strategies to us
  • Our testimony of overcoming them can encourage others going through the same thing
  • Overcoming them brings promotion from the Lord and He can entrust us with more responsibility

It is imperative to know the Lord’s role and ours when going through trials. Who has the Lord promised to be for us while we go through trials? Here’s a few:

  • A refuge and  stronghold ( Psa 9:9)
  • Our confidence( Proverbs 3:25-26)
  • The One who will fight for us and we are to be still(Exo 14:14)
  • He will uphold and strengthen us( Isa 41:10)
  • He will be with us in trouble, deliver and honor us (Psa 91:15
  • Cause our enemies to be defeated before our face and scatter in 7 directions
  • Our strength(Psa 37:39)
  • Hide us in His pavillion, in the secret place of His tabernacle and set us upon a rock. He will cause our head to be lifted above our enemies( Psa 27:5-6)

Our role is:

  • To take refuge in Him(Nahum 1:7)
  • Trust in Him
  • Cast our burden upon Him(Psa 55:22)
  • Submit ourselves to Him, resist the devil(James 4:7)
  • Stand(Eph 6:13)
  • Fight the good fight of faith(1 Tim 6:12)
  • Cry out to Him(Ps 34:17)
  • Maintain our gaze on Him(25:15)
  • Remain in His presence
  • Know that we are kept(Ps 121:5)
  • Know that He will make it work for our good(Rom 8:28)
  • Seek His face, remind Him of His promises and who He promised to be for us while in it

There are moments where we can barely hold on to Him and our hope is shattered. The Lord is called the author and finisher of our faith. He has promised to uphold us. It is written: The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and He delights in his way. Though he fall he shall not be utterly cast down for he will uphold him with his hand(Psa 37:24). He is called the lifter of our heads(Psa 3:3). So we should never feel that if we fail then it will be our demise. The responsibility for our spiritual sustenance does not reside within ourselves; rather, even within the specific roles we are ordained to fulfill, our absolute reliance must be placed upon the Lord.

 We are required to remain steadfast in His presence because that’s where our safety resides. We encounter superfluous adversity when we abandon the bounds of His presence and attempt to resolve the problem on our own and risk losing the “adding” that was connected to the trial . Additionally, God ordained trouble can beget more ungodly trouble, leading to a plentitude of issues God never intended for us to experience. When the Lord leads us through adversity, we are to trust that He has already provided means to sustain us. We may not be made privy to this and so we are required to walk by faith. Consider Elijah who was fed by a raven and Paul who was provided for in prison by the Philippian church. The trial is not to merely discomfit; it is always for a purpose. There is grace when we go through trials that but that grace is only in His presence. Trials add to the believer, and if they ever take anything away, it was a hindrance or He excised it to ensure more fruitfulness. Psalm 138:7 says Though I walk through the midst of trouble you will revive me. You will stretch your hand against the wrath of my enemies and your right hand will revive me. 

Revive according to Strong’s concordance means: keep, give promise, nourish, preserve, quicken, repair, restore, save, be whole…

Those are the benefits of walking through the midst of trouble! He promises to keep us. That means we will not be lost to Him while in trouble. He will give us a promise and we certainly require it so that we do not despair. 

To nourish according to the English dictionary means

  • To nurture , rear
  • To promote the growth of
  • To furnish or sustain with nutriment: to feed
  • Maintain, support

So the Lord utilizes trouble as breeding ground for our growth. He takes on the role likened to that of a mother towards her newborn babe or the role of a committed gardener. He is steadfastly committed to our growth and He provides the necessary nutriment and scaffolding. When we do not know that, we fall into resentment, offense and get angry at Him. Regrettably, due to our myopic view, we may walk away from Him.

Additionally, we may pray to the Lord and He might answer the prayer with a trial. Why? Because it adds to us. One of the definitions for revive is restoration. When we are not acquainted with how He sometimes answers prayer we may be tempted to be offended at Him. We may feel that He is not answering our prayers due to falling into endless trials. However it is written that we are to rejoice when that transpires

Sometimes the deliverance is in the fire. Believers often petition the Lord with the expectation that He shall prohibit the occurrence of trouble. Nevertheless, the Sovereignty of God occasionally permits such hardships to transpire, recognizing that the most sscaffolding. Salvation is often achieved through the experience of the trial rather than the avoidance of it.Although Daniel prayed to the Lord ahead of time, he was saved through immersion in the Den.

Myles Munroe: Daniel’s quality of Kingdom faith is very rare today in the religious community as many of our contemporary doctrines and belief systems promote a shallow version of faith that focuses more on “avoidance faith” than enduring and overcoming faith. It is a faith built on avoiding troubles, trials, and tests rather than enduring and overcoming these temporary opportunities to prove the eternal power of our Kingdom. We need the faith of Daniel to be restored to our world today.

It is written when you go through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, the flames will not set you ablaze ( Isa 43:2)