Suffering does the same thing. When a person faces a trial of any sort, what is inside of them comes out. If faith is in them, it shows. If fear or anger is in them, it shows. Pain makes a person transparent.
For those of us who believe, trials are opportunities for us to see where we are in our faith. It is important to remember that trials come to all. The difference between the Godly and the ungodly is that the Godly go through it all with Jesus. Sometimes folks get mad at God, when they suffer. That anger is always misdirected. God made the world perfect; sin destroyed it. God is in the process of making all things right by making all things new. People of faith can rejoice in their suffering because they never suffer alone. God is with us.
I find that looking at suffering as a game day helps me a lot. While life is good, you are at practice. You are preparing for the challenge life is about to bring your way. It is when you are having a hard time that what you believe really matters and is put to the test. It is in the midst of the storm a believer is able to show who they are based on what they believe.
Augustine wrote in The City of God:
"Then, lastly, there is another reason why the good are afflicted with temporal calamities - the reason which Job's case exemplifies: that the human spirit may be proved, and that it may be manifested with what fortune of pious trust, and with how unmercenary a love, it cleaves to God."
God alone knows what you are truly going through right now. If you are in Christ, He is with you. If you are going through a tough time look to Christ for hope and draw strength from your faith. See this as a defining moment to find assurance in your salvation.
1 comment:
James 1:1 lends encouragment when going through trials.
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