TRIALS
TEACH
BREAD
3 Praise
be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has
given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil
or fade--kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until
the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In
this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to
suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith--of greater worth
than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine
and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 1 Peter 1:3-7 (NIV)
2 Consider
it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because
you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance
must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking
anything. James 1:2-4 (NIV)
11 Also
our enemies said, “Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among
them and will kill them and put an end to the work.” 12 Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten
times over, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.” 13 Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the
lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with
their swords, spears and bows. 14 After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the
nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them.
Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your
sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.” 15 When our enemies heard that we were aware of their
plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his
own work. Nehemiah 4:11-15 (NIV)
6 “Be
strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I
swore to their forefathers to give them. 7 Be
strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses
gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be
successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your
mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do
everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have
I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be
discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:6-9 (NIV)
17 You
may say to yourselves, “These nations are stronger than we are. How can we
drive them out?” 18 But do not be afraid of them; remember well what the
LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt. 19 You
saw with your own eyes the great trials, the miraculous signs and wonders, the
mighty hand and outstretched arm, with which the LORD your God brought you out.
The LORD your God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear. 20 Moreover,
the LORD your God will send the hornet among them until even the survivors who
hide from you have perished. 21 Do not be terrified by them, for the LORD your God,
who is among you, is a great and awesome God.
Deuteronomy 7:17-21 (NIV)
1 And
now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the
Macedonian churches. 2 Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy
and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For
I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their
ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of
sharing in this service to the saints. 5 And
they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and
then to us in keeping with God's will.
2 Corinthians 8:1-5 (NIV)
12 Dear
friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though
something strange were happening to you. 13 But
rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be
overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 14 If
you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit
of glory and of God rests on you. 15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief
or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16 However,
if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear
that name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the family
of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not
obey the gospel of God? 18 And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” 19 So then, those who suffer according to God’s will
should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. 1 Peter 4:12-19 (NIV)
1 Therefore,
since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this
grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not
only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering
produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And
hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our
hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Romans 5:1-5 (NIV)
10 And
the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you
have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong,
firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 5:10-11 (NIV)
BUTTER
“To added affliction He addeth His mercy,
to multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.” Annie Johnson Flint
“The gem cannot by polished without friction,
nor man perfected without trials.”
Anonymous
“These trials are just ‘tools’ in God’s hands,” said the
Iranian believer. “Who am I to criticize
the tools that God uses to make me more holy?”
Anonymous
“God does not give grace till the hour of
trial comes. But when it does
come, the amount of grace and the nature of the special grace required is vouchsafed.
My soul, do not dwell with painful apprehension on the future. Do not
anticipate coming sorrows; perplexing thyself with the grace needed for future
emergencies; tomorrow will bring its promised grace along with tomorrow’s
trials . . . and the strength which the hour of trial brings often makes the
Christian a wonder to himself!” John Ross
MacDuff
“To learn strong
faith is to endure great trials. I have
learned my faith by standing firm amid severe testings.” George
Mueller
“However,
faith has its trials, as well as its answers.
It is not to be imagined that the man of faith, having pushed out from
the shore of circumstances, finds it all smooth and easy sailing. By no means.
Again and again, he is called to encounter rough sea and stormy skies;
but it is all graciously designed to lead him into deeper and more matured
experience of what God is to the heart that confides in Him. Were the sky always without a cloud and the
ocean without a ripple, the believer would not know so well that God with Whom
he has to do; for alas, we know how prone that heart is to mistake the peace of
circumstances for the peace of God. When
everything is going on smoothly and pleasantly—our property safe, our business
prosperous, our children carrying themselves agreeably, our residence
comfortable, our health excellent—everything in short, just to our mind, how
apt we are to mistake the peace which reposes upon such circumstances for that
peace which flows from the realized presence of Christ.” C.H.
Mackintosh
“It is well to be
poor, when the knowledge of our poverty serves but to unfold to us the
exhaustless riches
of divine grace. That grace can never suffer any one to go away empty. It can
never tell anyone that he is too poor. It can meet the very deepest human need;
and not only so, but it is glorified in meeting it. This holds good in every case.
It is true of every individual sinner…Grace is the grand and only resource for
us all. It is the basis of our
salvation; the basis of a life of practical godliness; and the basis of those
imperishable hopes which animate us amid the trials and conflicts of this
sin-stricken world. May we cherish a deeper sense of grace, and more ardent
desire for glory!” C H MacIntosh
“We should follow Christ in simplicity and faith, because
the paths in which He leads us all end in glory and immortality. It is true they may not be smooth paths –
they may be covered with sharp flinty trials, but they lead to the ‘city with
foundations, whose architect and builder is God.’ ‘All the ways of the Lord are loving and
faithful for those who keep the demands of His covenant.’ Let’s put full trust in our Leader, since we
know that, come prosperity or adversity, sickness or health, popularity or
contempt, His purpose shall be worked out, and that purpose shall be pure,
unmingled good to every heir of mercy…..His dear love will make us far more
blessed than those who sit at home and warm their hands at the world’s fire.” Charles H. Spurgeon
“On Him then reckon, to Him
look, on Him depend: and be assured that
if you walk with Him, look to Him and expect help from Him, He will never fail
you. An older brother, who has known the
Lord for forty-four years, who writes this, says for your encouragement that He
has never failed him. In the greatest
difficulties, in the heaviest trials, in the deepest poverty and necessities,
He has never failed me; but because I was enabled by His grace to trust in Him,
He has always appeared for my help. I
delight in speaking well of His Name.” George
Mueller
HEART SAVOR
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Trials come so that our faith may be proved genuine.
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The testing of our faith develops perseverance.
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What He allows is what He deems best for our lives – it is
good in His sight. It is often His
chosen tool to conform us into the image of His Son. We are not to kick against His best but learn
and grow from it.
