"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." ~James 1:2-4~
The bond that ties a woman or a man to God is the bond of love. Not just a relationship that is selfish saying "as long as I get what I want, I'll stick around", but a true bond that can endure any trial. And if one does not have that bond of love with Christ, it will be shown after the result of a trial.
We are told in James 1:2-4, that when faced with trials we are to be joyful. This means to be content whatever the circumstance. Because we have that bond of love with Christ, we can be content. Knowing it won't always be easy, but at the same time with the assurance and truth that He will always take care of us.
When you exercise your muscles you will get stronger and stronger. Sometimes it isn't easy, but we know that the more we exercise our muscles the stronger we become over time-correct? Well that is exactly what we find in James 1:2-4. When we are faced with spiritual trials we are actually building spiritual muscles. When a believer is faced with a trial he or she spends more time than usual praying, studying scriptures, and asking others to pray for them. And through this he or she is building their faith and becoming more and more steadfast.
When faced with trials, know that it is a test. After the test you are able to see if your faith is genuine or not. If you are not in a trial at the moment, know that you must be preparing for one. Because the trials will come, so we as believers must prepare for the battle, by emercing ourselves in scripture, never ceasing to pray and spreading the gospel to others. Putting on the full armor of God.
Often you hear tragic stories of individuals who claimed to be believers, but when faced with a trial abandoned the faith alltogether and became angry with God. We see through those stories that their faith was not really genuine. They didn't get what they wanted so they turned from God.
It is not possible to loose salvation through a trial. If your name is written in the lamb's book of life, it cannot be erased. If you have genuine salvation it will show. You cannot loose it.
When true believers go through trials they actually come out stronger! That may sound a bit strange, but it is good news!
Christ went from pain to joy for us, should we do anything less?
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Alina, I like your blog.
ReplyDeleteHere is a thought. Do you think God can be glorified through our loyalty to praise Him when we don't get our desires. When He chooses to say no and we acknowledge His sovereignty and right to do that and are ok with that.
ReplyDeleteI will be able to say no to Satan, that I will not be a spoiled child/slave, I will be honored that God is still glorified by His rightful choice to say no and my choice to praise Him when I don't get what I desire too.
Do you think there are special blessings for denying ourselves here for the sake of God being glorified through our trials by our loyalty to Him in spite of our circumstances?
Great thoughts and reminders, Alina. Thanks for sharing! I think one aspect of trials that draws us closer to God is our weakness and dependancy on Him, both of which hit us square in the face (if we are honest) in times of trial. Galatians 6:14 comes to mind.
ReplyDelete"But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."
If trials achieve the goal of our boasting being only in the cross then they are more than worth enduring. :-)
MM: Great thoughts! Yes I do think God can be glorified when we do not get all that we desire. Our relationship with God is not based off of our own selfish desires so yes I agree :) And through that others may see what a great God we serve! That we can be joyous even when life doesn't always go as we plan.
ReplyDeleteCould you explain your other question? I didn't quite understand it sorry :)
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Great thoughts Mark! Thanks for sharing! Those are some great truths to dwell on!