Trials # 5

Trials # 5

But if we try to get out of the trial without passing through it - then we are sure to miss the blessing in the end. It is the blessing that God wants us to have, and that is what we need. If you struggle out of the trial without getting the lesson and the blessing- then God may bring it again. He may let it be repeated again and again - until you submit to His will and have wrought in you the thing that is needful.

Do not meet your trials with fear. Meet them courageously. Do not dread them. Keep confident in God. Do not rebel against them. Submit yourself to the Lord. He will make all things work together for good to you.

How Faith Sustains in Trial

We are told that we stand by faith. Faith is the one thing that can sustain us through every peril and through every difficulty.

I once stood upon the shore when the waves were dashing wildly against the rocks. A considerable distance from the shore I saw two objects rising and falling upon the waves, but as I kept gazing at them, I observed a difference in their behavior. I soon saw that, while both were being tossed by the waves, one was coming nearer to me. It was being driven in toward land, while the other remained in its position. One was a floating log; the other was a buoy. Every wave drove the log nearer the shore, and I watched it until it was dashed against the rocks. The buoy still held its position.

What was the difference between the two? The buoy was anchored; the log was not. The iron cable of the buoy took fast hold upon the bottom and held, no matter how the storm raged; but the unanchored log was at the mercy of every wind and every wave.

Which object represents us depends upon our faith. If our faith is anchored in God, we are like the buoy which, though tossed by the waves, though beaten by the storms, yet holds its position and cannot be moved away. If we are not anchored by faith in God - then we are like the log, and it will be no wonder if we are dashed upon the rocks.

The seaweed floats up on the surface of the water. It too is beaten by the storm and tossed by the waves, but it keeps its place; for down beneath the waves it has a sure grounding - by strong roots anchored to a rock. The storms may beat, the winds may blow, the waves may roll - but it holds fast, because it is fastened upon the rock.

In the same way, God would have us rooted in Him through faith. This faith will sustain us and hold us in our place in the wildest storms or the bitterest trial.

Balance the trial by trust. As the trial increases - increase trust. The harder the trial comes upon us - the harder we should lean upon the Lord. He will sustain you, if you trust and lean on Him.

We are not likely to be tried as hard as Job was. In fact, if we will compare our trials with his - we shall often feel ashamed to call them trials! Though Job was tempted to the limit and tried to the utmost - he was fully determined that his conduct should be righteous, and that not simply for a little while. Through all his trials and afflictions - he stood steadfast and unmovable, glorifying God even when he could not pierce the darkness ahead of him. Even when he could not understand the present, and when the past was unexplained and unexplainable; even when his wife despaired, and his friends united to condemning him - still he held fast his integrity. His decision was not simply to hold on a little while and see if things would change. No, he intended to go through to the end, no matter what came. His decision was to be steadfast as long as he lived. He might suffer, but he would not rebel. If he could not understand God's ways, he could understand his duty; and he would do his duty; regardless of what happened.

What a lesson of faithfulness and steadfastness! We ought to be ashamed to let the few little trials that we have, weaken our decision to serve the Lord and be true at any cost. What have we to endure compared with what he had? Let us be steadfast, therefore, and keep right on, knowing that our God is our helper and that He will never fail us.

~Charles Naylor~

(continued with # 6)