Finding God's Blessing Through Trials

Complaining.

We all do it. I probably do more than is healthy if I'm honest with myself. It's so easy to gripe about what we DON'T have. One of the biggest on my list would probably be HARD things in life. If anything comes my way that MIGHT be hard, or that MIGHT cause a little pain, do I latch onto the One who is my strength, or do I start the whining? Almost every time, it would be the latter.

Trials are going to come, sorry, but it's the plain and simple truth. People say our strength is shown in how many trials and hard times we make it through, but really it's what we do DURING the time of those trials that shows where our strength lies. See, if we live our life like we're supposed to, it would close a lot of people's mouths that try and harm us (because there will be no proof of what they're saying) and just make us all around more content.

"Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that at the revelations of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you." -1 Peter 4:12-13

Wow. "If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed." How often do we see it that way? (Truthfully now.) We probably have never thought about it in that way.

"And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David, of Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouth of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from WEAKNESS were made STRONG, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight."

Regular men and women, just like you and I, had FAITH in God and in the promises they were given and conquered such amazing things that people knew it could only be from God Himself. It was not because they were strong, bold and courageous. It was their weakness that made God choose them, because when we are weak, He is strong and His power is shown through us in a way that cannot be claimed as our own.

"Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment."

If such things were to happen to you and I, would we still have faith, still be strong in our beliefs, or would we high tale and run for cover?

"They were stoned, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in the deserts and the mountains and caved and holes in the ground."

These people were tortured. Have you ever felt the need to have something you can love SO MUCH that you will give anything for it, including your life, because it means THAT much to you? That is what these men felt. God was not some crutch or made up idol. God was real in their lives; He was real in their hearts. It was visible, because they didn't make HIM INVISIBLE.

"All these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect."

These men and women were promised many things...they were told by God that He would return. They had SUCH faith that they risked and gave their lives for that very reason, because they BELIEVED that God would fulfill His promise in time. God's promise 2,000 years later rings no less true than it did the day He said it. He could come back tomorrow, or 200 years from now. But He will come back. Everything He said, He will do.

"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us,"

All of the people you read about in the bible... so often we treat them as bedtime or made up stories. We think "Oh how I wish I could be as brave as ____! Man, they had such passion for Jesus!" Yes, and they are your brothers and sisters. You and I have the exact same Power in us that they did! God hasn't shrunk any bit at all! We have shrunk Him. We have done some resizing and made Him into the little image we want Him to be, putting Him in a little box for safe keeping. We must stop cutting our faith down to fit the worlds small mindedness on Jesus. Just because they cannot understand the magnificence of Him doesn't mean we need to make Him smaller in our minds. -We have got to stop saying "I wish I was like" and start saying "I will be like".

"...let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on JESUS"

If I were to go out and run a race through the woods...there would probably be several things that COULD stop me from finishing; it could be leg cramps, thirst, branches, holes, puddles or animals in our path. I want to finish this race though, right? So what do I do, push through the fatigue, jump over or go around the obstacles, or do I give up and go back? Well hopefully my choice would be to continue on and just move around what was in my way. That is how it works with our faith. The road we are running on isn't perfect. We were told before the race began that we might face some difficulty, but we signed up anyway. As we run this race, instead of having that donut, cup of coffee or plate of eggs on our mind, Jesus should at the forefront of our mind. He gives us the strength we need to keep at it...to keep moving. Like I said, there will be things we will have to push through that will try to stop us, but we must fix our eyes on the PRIZE (Jesus) and push through the hard times.


"...fixing our eyes on JESUS, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him ENDURED THE CROSS, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." -Hebrews 4:32-39, 12:1-3

Consider how MUCH He endured. All for what? Everything He did was for you and I, so that we won't get depressed or tired, so our spirits would stay lifted and we will have something to look forward to in this life.

These verses mention many people who had faith in Gos to lead them in a way that was unknown and confusing to them. They faced many hardships and many people who were against what they were doing, but through it all they did not back down. They were steadfast.

If you are a believer, this race is for you, too. We have the same task and the same God that those men and women had all of those years ago. Our God has not changed. Remember to be encouraged in your walk with Christ, because God's strength is still able to empower us today. He is not a God in the past who left us to fend for ourselves.

The people this verse talked about endured great pain. Most of them actually died. And we complain when a friends spreads a silly rumor about us? In verse 38 it says "...men of whom the world was not worthy". Wow. If we want a description of what our faith should look like, that is a good one. We should be asking ourselves this, though. Would that be said about us a hundred years from now?Could it be said about us? Do we run our race complaining about being thirsty, getting cramps in our side, our legs hurting or moan and groan the whole time, or do we run because we have our eyes set on the site ahead, and it is so amazing that it pushes us through all the pain we're feeling?

Life is not about us. It's a rough things to hear, let me tell you. I always think to myself how things aren't fair for me. Well guess what? They won't ever be. As believers, this SHOULD be truth in our lives! Our life should be about HIM.

We spend so much time trying to figure out what God's plans are...why He allows certain things to happen. But honestly, all we need to know is that "all things work together for good for those who love Him". God will not always give us a reason for why He allowed something bad to happen, but as our faith is tested, we should be leaning on Him.

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." -Hebrews 11:1

Faith means we believe in something, even though we can't see it. We cannot see God, nor can we see His plan for our life. But we have FAITH that He is there and will work the best for our lives, because He SAID He would.

Reading a lot about the children of Israel, they were a fickle bunch of people, weren't they? God could never please them. They would complain about being hungry or thirsty, and God would feed them and give them water and countless other things. They would complain, God would give them what they wanted, and so the cycle would go. It was like a see-saw. Up and down all the time. When we don't get our way, do we, like the children of Israel, stomp our feet and whine about how rough we have it? Most of us probably do. (Those of you who claim you've never done that, simply disregard that last statement.) Our faith is what gives us hope. Whether things are going great, or we feel things couldn't get worse.

"See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him." 1 John 3:1-2

To be called a child of God is a big thing. A child of THE King. Wow. It should be thought of as such an Honor...but these days we simply push it aside and say "well, if it saves me from going to hell...." God did not die to save us from hell; He died to SAVE US. He desires to spend time with His children, and aches when they are struggling or in pain. He is saddened at the very thought of His children hurting. But He promises to be there when it comes and a day where we will no longer feel pain.

The things of today, the hurts and pains; the struggles and trials; they are all what we must endure as we pass through this world. We never, EVER, have to face them alone, though.

"He will NEVER leave you NOR forsake you."