What Is God Up To When We Go Through Trials?

DT 8:2Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years,

to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you

would keep his commands. 3He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you

with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not

live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. 4Your clothes

did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. 5Know then in your

heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you. 6Observe the

commands of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and revering him. 7For the LORD your

God is bringing you into a good land--a land with streams and pools of water, with springs

flowing in the valleys and hills; 8a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees,

pomegranates, olive oil and honey; 9a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack

nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills. Lord Jesus, I

know I am a sinner. I ask you to forgive my sins. By faith, I give you my sins, my failures and lifestyle

and by faith I receive your righteousness into my life. I open the door of my heart and invite you in.

Please be my Lord and Savior and I will live my life for You and follow Your will. Thank you for

forgiving me of my sins.

WHAT IS GOD UP TO WHEN WE GO THROUGH TRIALS?

Does it not cause you to wonder why God who loves His people would send trials into their

lives? Daniel was a man of God but he went through tests that were hard on him. He could have

lost his life more than once. It was not a result of sin in his life but something that came from

God. Though we cannot see His hand in our afflictions, we can fully put our trust in His love for

us. As we see, here the Israelites have been in the wilderness for forty years. It was years of trial

for the people of God. It came from a result of unbelief. What can we learn from them when we

go through trials? You see God puts these stories in the Bible to help teach us how to live for

Him. So let us look at three lessons we can learn that will help us in our day.

1. THE CHARACTER OF IT.

A. It was long. God kept them for forty years which show the patience of God. It seems much to

our dismay that God has time to wait.

Noah- 120 years, Abraham-25 years, Jacob-21 years, Joseph 17/30, Slaves in Egypt 400

years, Judges 400 years, captivity 70 years, 400 silent years. I know that you and I have asked,

“How Long?” God knows and He knows when the time is up. Even Jesus asked this question

B. It was bitter . Look at vs. 3, causing you t o hunger. God could have prevented this but He

wanted to teach them to trust Him. 2 Cor 12:9 "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my

power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that

Christ’s power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in

hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” I would pray that God

would give us a hunger for His word that would bring us a revival. Many times it has been the

hearing and hungering for God’s word that brought revival.

C. It came because the people refused to believe. They did not enter because of unbelief. It is

unbelief that takes away our receiving the blessings of God. I need all the blessing I can get every

day. When we doubt God and his Word, we cease to be what we need to be for him. Some from

the Bible- Thomas, Rich young ruler, Lot’s wife.

D. It came under the leading of God. Most of us would have let these people just die for their

disobedience but God did not. Vs two says He led them. It has been I am sure for all us times

when we did lay hold of that which God wanted for us and we have found that God did not

forsake us but led us to where he wanted us to be. He is faithful all the time. For forty years He