Thoughts On Trials, Tests, And Temptations

God’s purpose with our trials, in stark contrast to that of the devil, is to make us better. Whereas Satan’s goal is to use our difficulties to destroy us, our heavenly Father wants to use them to purify us. Whether God is honored or dishonored in our trials, then, is determined by our response to our challenges. We can work with God or we can resist the work He is wanting to accomplish in us.
          As an example of what this may look like in practical terms, say you have been wronged by a fellow believer. You have confronted your brother about the matter but he is not repentant, and all you are left with is pain and disappointment. If this situation creates ongoing resentment and bitterness in your heart; if it causes you to try to get back at the person who hurt you; to get angry at God; or to lose hope altogether, then the trial has become something that’s producing sin in your life.
          You can, however, choose to respond the way that the Bible tells you to: you can forgive your brother (Matthew 18:21-22), continue to pray for him (Luke 6:28), leave it up to God to see that justice is done (Romans 12:19), and believe and hope that Christian love will win in the end (1 Corinthians 13:7). If you do, your trial – the same trial – will become something that strengthens your faith in God and His ability to defend you; something that builds you up and draws you closer to the Lord.
          To surrender resentment and hurt to God can be a grueling hard process for sure, especially when you find yourself in a situation where you’re not at fault and you’re reaping what someone else has sowed. It’s hard because what you’re experiencing isn’t fair. God is a God of justice and order, and since we’re created in His image, it’s only natural that we’re going to feel angry when sinned against. Keep in mind that Jesus Himself was angry and grieved at unrighteousness (Mark 3:5).
          What’s interesting to note is that the Bible says to, “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger” (Ephesians 4:26 ESV). In other words, anger in and of itself isn’t wrong; what Scripture warns against is prolonged resentment.
          It’s when we hold on to anger that we give the devil an opportunity (verse 27). We give him an opportunity to make our hearts hard toward God and to sow increasingly more dissension between us and the person who wronged us. When things aren’t brought out into the light and dealt with; when forgiveness doesn’t take place and reconciliation doesn’t happen, that’s when the enemy comes and exploits the situation. And when he does, friendships, marriages, families, and churches are easily destroyed as a result. No wonder God says to guard against the root of bitterness (Hebrews 12:15)!
          It’s important to remember that our offender is not our real enemy. Our real enemy is the devil and his cohorts. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).
Again, it’s our response to our difficulties – and regardless of the nature of our trial – that is going to determine whether that trial becomes a temptation which hurts us or a test which ultimately refines us. As long as we respond correctly, even a painful experience set in motion by Satan to harm us can become a blessing when it helps us grow spiritually.
          Of course, the key to making the best possible decisions in life is to walk in continuous obedience to God’s Word. Obedience is a beautiful thing. When you live obediently, you can have peace in any struggle. The peace may not come right away, but eventually it will. As the Bible promises, “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You” (Isaiah 26:3).
          Those that seek to live according to God’s precepts, putting their trust in Him and truly desiring to respond correctly to life’s trials, will be able to experience a sense of inner tranquility. They can know that they’re safe and secure in the Lord’s hands and that He will use their hardship for good. Simply put, when you walk in obedience, God is on your side!
          What’s more, the Lord will always supply us with the wisdom we need to handle our challenges. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” (James 1:5 ESV).
          Truly, all we need to do is ask; ask the Lord to give us discernment and to understand the lessons He wants us to teach us through our difficulties.
          God has not left us alone. We don’t have to figure things out on our own. We have the guidance of the Word and of the Holy Spirit, and we can turn to mature, godly Christians for advice. We have everything we need to ensure that our trial becomes a test in which God is glorified rather than a temptation in which He is dishonored. It’s up to you and me to do the right thing.

The above article is a chapter from my upcoming book, “Life More Abundantly: Trading Your Good For God’s Best.”

 

 

 

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The Rocks And The Sand

I have noticed that God has a very creative way of making spiritual truths come to life for His children. It is as if He wants to make sure you get what He is teaching you in His Word, and so He will place you in situations where you get the opportunity to live biblical principles.
          This is exactly what I experienced recently when I had an unexpected divine appointment on the beach with a young Christian man named Peter. I was prepping for a talk I was doing later in the week at a Christian women’s conference and had driven out to Santa Monica for a very specific purpose. In my talk I was going to do a demonstration for which I needed two rocks and a lot of sand, and the beach, of course, was the place to find these items.
          Here is how the demonstration works: I hold an empty glass jar up in front of my audience and explain that the jar represents the days of our lives; what each of us has room for. Next, I get a bucket filled with sand and slowly pour all the sand into the jar. I tell my onlookers that the sand represents all those pressing little things that we have to tend to on a regular basis. Such as cooking dinner, getting a haircut, paying bills, returning emails, driving our kids to activities, scheduling doctor’s appointments, shopping, exercising, and on and on. It is an endless list, as we all know.
          I then try to force the two rocks into the jar. It can’t be done. There is not enough room left as the jar is filled to the brim with sand. “As you can see,” I tell my audience, “if we start with all the little things – if we first fill our jar with sand – the big rocks of life aren’t going to fit.”
          I continue, “And what are the big rocks of life? Well, there are only two according to Jesus. There are two critical things that we are called to do in life, namely to love God and love people. These, Jesus says in Matthew 22:37-40, are the most important commandments.”
          Next, I pour the sand back into the bucket so that the jar is once again empty. Then I start over. But this time I use a different strategy, beginning with the rocks. I place the two rocks at the very bottom of the jar and ask this question: “But what happens if you put the big rocks first – the two most important things in life, namely to love God and people – and then add the sand; all the rest of your tasks and activities?”
          The audience watches with anticipation as I slowly pour the sand back into the jar. And, would you believe it, every little grain of sand now fits perfectly, filling in all the cracks between and around the rocks! I screw the lid on the jar and conclude: “The lesson here is pretty simple. When we put God first, everything else falls into place. In the words of Christ Himself, in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
          So, this was the demonstration I was prepping for. This was the reason I had gone to the beach the day that the Lord decided to put Peter on my path. (I originally found the analogy in an article where it was used to talk about prioritizing in general. I liked it so much that I decided to apply it specifically to the spiritual aspects of life and use it in my talks.)
          After filling my glass jar with sand and finding two nice rocks on the beach that I figured would do the trick, I decided to enjoy the sun for a few minutes before returning home.
          I was lying down on my towel with my eyes closed. A little while later when I opened them again, I noticed that a stranger (Peter) had come and sat down close by. He kept glancing over at the jar, an intrigued look on his face. Finally, he asked with a grin, “Sand? Do you collect sand as a souvenir?”
          I laughed and said I was going to use the jar, sand, and rocks for a presentation. I explained what the different things represented and that it was an illustration about putting God and people first. Peter’s face lit up. “You’re a Christian?” he asked. I said I was, and he excitedly responded that he was, too.
          We continued to chat, and within minutes we were completely comfortable with each other. (You know how it is when you meet another believer: you immediately have a connection point and no lack of things to talk about!)
          As it turned out, Peter was going through some trials. And I got the opportunity to encourage him with my testimony about how the Lord had worked in my life through my struggles, leading me out of the secular business world and into Christian speaking. Peter kept exclaiming, “Wow! Wow!” It appeared that my testimony really struck a chord with him.
          The two of us had a wonderful, long conversation about the goodness of God, and we even joined hands and prayed for each other before leaving the beach. It was as if we had known each other for years.
          Peter then offered to carry the glass jar for me all the way to my car, which I was extremely thankful for since it was so heavy I could barely lift it. It was my first time giving this particular demonstration at a conference, and I had no idea the jar was going to be that heavy once I filled it with sand! As I was lying there on the beach, before Peter came and sat down, I had been wondering how in the world I was going to get the jar back to my car. And then the Lord sent me a helper!
          But perhaps the most amazing thing of all was that God brought my sand-in-jar analogy to life right before my eyes. Just think about it: This was for a presentation about seeking God’s Kingdom before all. And as I myself put this principle into practice, everything else fell into place.
          Without even realizing it, I did precisely what the demonstration taught. I put the two “rocks” first. I focused on loving God by proclaiming His goodness and loving a fellow human being (Peter) by taking the time to encourage him. As a result I got my practical needs met when Peter offered to carry the jar to my car! (I also got a pretty cool story to share with my audience when I performed my jar demonstration at the conference later that week).
          Only God can make stuff like that happen. Only He can pull everything so beautifully together. And what it does is prove to me that the Bible is not like any other book. His Word is not just letters on a page. It is living and active (Hebrews 4:12). And when you put biblical truths into action, God moves and life works the way it is supposed to.

Are You Borrowing Tomorrow’s Trouble?

When in the midst of a trial, it is easy to make the mistake of borrowing trouble. Really all we should be thinking about is dealing with what is right in front of us today.
          However, prone as we are to worry, we often find ourselves living in the future. Because we can’t see a solution to our problems yet, we automatically assume that they are going to continue on indefinitely.
          When we try to carry many days worth of trouble this way, we naturally become overwhelmed. And the reason we become overwhelmed is that God never meant for us to live this way. He didn’t create our spirits with strength sufficient to carry the load of future problems. He meant for us to live one day at a time. In fact, Jesus very specifically said to “not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34).
          Deal with tomorrow when the day comes, He said. Not now. Don’t try to carry the burden of challenges that belong to future days, weeks, months, or years. Don’t fret about something that hasn’t happened yet. Not only is it exhausting; it is pointless.
          It is pointless because you just don’t know what solutions God is going to provide for you between now and then. By the time tomorrow rolls around, you could very well have some new insights, information, or resources at your disposal that will make everything much more tolerable. Or God could even have put an end to your problems by that time. You just don’t know.
          The Lord sustains us. He provides for us. He takes care of His children, moment by moment, hour by hour, day by day. We don’t need to worry about the future because God is already there.
          This was the principle the LORD sought to teach the Israelites during their years of wandering in the wilderness. After He had supernaturally supplied them with manna to eat, He had Moses instruct the people to not leave any of it for the next day (Exodus 16:19). They were only to gather enough manna for that particular day, not for the week or the month – not even for the next couple of days.
          The Israelites, however, worried that provision from God might not come again tomorrow. And so they disobeyed His instructions and saved some of the manna in case the LORD didn’t provide for them the next day. But what happened when the next day came? All the delicious, white wafers they had kept had gone bad and were full of maggots (verse 20)! It was God’s way of showing them what happens when you refuse to trust Him and try to do things your own way.
          Just as with Israelites in the Old Testament, God wants you and me to live in a state of dependency on Him. He wants us to remember that His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:23), and so we don’t need to worry about the next day. God’s provision for today – be it physical, emotional, or spiritual – is meant for today only. Tomorrow His mercies will be new and fresh and invigorating again, and He will once again meet our needs.
          Have you ever considered that Jesus Himself, when He prayed (Luke 11:3), asked His Father for daily bread, not for a week’s or month’s supply of it? And when He did, He set the example for us of what it means to lean on our heavenly Father for everything we need on a daily basis.
          Admittedly, this kind of dependent living can feel very foreign to us today in the affluent western world. We shop for food and household items in large quantities and stock and store in our basements and garages in order to always have what we need at our fingertips.
          But the truth is that there is no real security in anything that we possess in this life. Everything we have worked for could be ripped away from us in a second (Luke 12:20). And if it is, and it leaves us with angst and fear in our hearts, that is a telltale sign that we were trusting in our resources and not in the Lord.
          Now, the Bible isn’t saying that we shouldn’t plan ahead. This is clear from countless passages in God’s Word that promote wise, prudent living. What it is saying is that in the midst of all our planning we must still rely on God. We must lean more on Him than we do on our own plans.
          We need to recognize that ultimately our plans will come to fruition only if it is in the Lord’s will (James 4:15). Also, because God is in complete control of every little detail of our life, even when things don’t turn out the way we intended them to, we can rest in His ability to work all things together for our good (Romans 8:28).
          Again, the Lord wants us to live one day at a time. If we attempt to go about our lives any other way, we will fill our minds with worries and miss out on blessings that God has for us in the here and now.
          Because how can we enjoy a beautiful sunset, rich fellowship with other Christians, an unexpected, divinely ordained opportunity to share the Gospel, or spontaneous play with a carefree child if our mind is preoccupied with anxious thoughts? If we are living in the past or the future, we can’t possibly be fully present in the moment.
          Of course, the reality is that we don’t even know if we will be around tomorrow. None of us is guaranteed another day of life. Which is why it is so critical to make the very most out of today.
          Rather than worrying so much about what may or may not happen tomorrow, we must eat up the manna of the day – the grace that God gives us for right now. And if He does bless us with another day, we can know that His provision for that day will be fresh once again.
*****
 
 
The above article is a chapter from my upcoming book, “Life More Abundantly: Trading Your Good For God’s Best.”
 
 
 

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