“Light At The End Of The Tunnel”
Enduring Tests and Trials
In life, all of us will face hardships at one time or another. Some of us face the same hardships time and time again. These times are called “trials”. When we go through a trial we tend to ask ourselves questions. Questions like
1 Why is this happening?
2 How is this happening?
3 Why is God allowing this to happen?
The last question that most people never ask
4 How can I learn and grow in my faith from it?
We all have problems, but life doesn’t end with those problems. We need to recognize and deal with them. We grow as Christians most when we go through trials or our faith. Trials can happen for different reasons.
Lets look at 1 of the questions from above that will in turn answer all the other questions.
“Why is this happening?
1 We bring it on ourselves because of a decision or actions we made.
In 2 Samuel 11 David lusts after a married woman, sleeps with her, then conspires to have her husband killed to get him out of the way. Davids sin was exposed to a man named Nathan and Nathan questions him about it. Chapter 12 verses 1-14 tell us how Nathan rebuked King David. This is how David responded when confronted with his sin.
2 Samuel 12:13
2SA 12:13 Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD."
After that, Davids child later dies of illness. It was Davids sin and disregard for Gods law that brought about this tragedy. David brought it on himself.
2 Someone else is bringing it on us
Jesus endured a trial brought in him by the actions of others.
Matthew 26:3-4
MT 26:3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, 4 and they plotted to arrest Jesus in some sly way and kill him.
Matthew 26:15,16
15 and asked, "What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?" So they counted out for him thirty silver coins. 16 From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.
It was by no action of his own by by that of others that Jesus was then to endure the greatest test and trial that anyone ever had. During his suffering, Jesus grew closer to God more than he ever had in the past. He demonstrated that with his last words from the Cross
Luke 23:46
46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last.
Think about when you have grown the most in your relationship with God. Has it been when things were fine or when the storms were raging so bad you couldn’t take it anymore and all you had was his Spirit? Was it when you just casually prayed to him for something or was it when you were crying out deep within your soul for him to rescue you? Was it when you were in the most pain either mental or physical that you had ever been in?
ILLUS-Bone lengthening procedure for Dwarf syndrome-painful but necessary
3 God is allowing it happen in order to draw us closer to him and make us stronger.
Job 1:22
JOB 1:22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
In the Book of Job, Job looses his children, his possessions, his wealth, and even his own health. Friends tried to convince Job that he had done something to deserve this. They tried to get him to curse God for all his suffering. After all he endured God spoke to Job, answered his questions.
Job 38:1,2,4
JOB 38:1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm. He said: JOB 38:2 "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? JOB 38:4 "Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.
This is God telling Job he really didn’t understand what was going on with the big picture. When he said “where were you” that’s pretty intense for a human to comprehend.
It helped Job to appreciate Gods infinite wisdom in the details of his finite life.
In the end god restored Job’s health, possessions, and a family to him.
When you go through a trial, you have to learn to trust God to lead you through it.
ILLUS-Horse Blinders(Distractions, Safety, Trust)
The Purpose of Test and Trials?
When you were in school what happened every so often? A test! You would learn things and when you reached the end of a level you were given a test to see if you deserved to pass to the next level. You learned some more then faced another test and so on. When you pass a test from God you receive a new level of understanding of his plan for you. Without a test how do you know your ready to move on?
Your test from God will never be beyond the level you are at. In school, you wouldn’t give a test of Calculus to a person in kindergarten. The results wouldn’t be positive.
God knows exactly what we can handle. Your test will never exceed your ability.
1 Corinthians 10:13
13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
When airlines train new pilots, they test them in a simulator. This simulator presents them with problems and malfunctions they might face in a flight. The problems start out small and progress to the most severe. Only after they master dealing with the small ones do they move onto the most severe ones. This is the same way God teaches us to handle the problems of life. He teaches us through every situation so that we can be prepared and ready to handle any challenge we may face in the future that might come our way all the while never giving us more than we can handle.
All of the tests and trials that we face are meant to prepare us for our future and our final judgment.
Malachi 3:2
MAL 3:2 But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap.
If you are enduring a trial right now, we are here to pray for and with you.
Keep your eyes on the glory that awaits you in the next life as you endure it.
Learn all that you can from it.
