Trials in 2013

We all know from experience that life will often bring many hardships, disappointments and heartaches, but for those who love Him and follow Him, God promises to make such things "work together" for good-that is, to serve a higher purpose, to bring about beneficial results.

The Amplified Bible, a translation which helps more fully illuminate the meanings from the original texts, puts it this way: "We are assured and know that [[a]God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose" (Romans 8:28 TAB).

Jesus and His disciples taught repeatedly that trials and tribulations were sure to come to all of God's people (James 1:12, 2 Timothy 3:12), and were actually necessary to perfect the faith and spiritual character of God's people. James in fact wrote that such occurrences should be viewed not as something negative, but with joyful optimism as opportunities for their faith to grow. "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing" (James 1:2-4 NLT).

Paul also taught that a believer's faith and character must be refined, purified, tempered in order to grow and reach greater levels of maturity for God so He can make us into what He wants us to be, or to perform the work that He has called for us to do. He said, "We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation" (Romans 5:3-4 NLT).

Likewise, Peter described that trials served a similar purpose as when heat is applied to unrefined gold, to purge it from the undesirable raw materials. Gold melts at a lower temperature than other elements, and will liquify and separate from the dross, producing refined, purified gold. He said, "These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold-though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world" (1 Peter 1:7 NLT).

Consequently, the Lord "allows" assorted winds and storms of life including sometimes even "allowing" Satan a "limited reach" (Job 1:12, 2:6), to bring troubles, trials, temptations to test our faith and spiritual character so that such qualities can rise to the challenge and emerge above the grip of the old fallen nature.

By "limited reach," we mean that God has restricted the extent and affect of such temptations and trials and says that He will not allow us to be tested beyond what we are capable of. This doesn't mean that our trials will necessarily be a walk in the park. in fact, some may be very severe; but it does means that you will never face a trial that you do not have the ability to overcome.

This is very important to understand. You will never face any trial that you and Jesus cannot overcome. You see, when we became a follower of Christ, His Spirit and power is birthed within and He wants each of us to learn how to yield to, and to exercise His power (Ephesians 3:20) to rise in faith to conquer our challenges as well as to carry out works of ministry in His name. The scripture says, "...God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it" (1 Corinthians 10:13).

This promise of "escape" doesn't mean that we will necessarily evade all such troubles, but that it will actually enable us to "bear" them. In other words, through faith, our heart can "escape" into the sustaining presence and power of the Lord which will enable us to "endure" such trying and difficult circumstances.

Lastly, the great message of Romans 8:28 is intended to amplify optimism and to arouse an attitude of faith to assure the Lord's followers that He loves us and that despite whatever circumstances come our way, He will remain on our side, will never abandon us, and will always make everything work together for our good. After all, if He already gave the life of His own son for us, what else would He withhold from doing for you?(Romans 8:31-32).

As with most things, attitude is everything and is more responsible for success or failure than anything else. Chuck Swindoll once said, "Words can never adequately convey the incredible impact of our attitudes toward life. The longer I live the more convinced I become that life is 10 percent what happens to us and 90 percent how we respond to it."

So when troubles come our way, Romans 8:28 enables us to look at them without dread and pessimism, but with a new attitude of faith knowing that nothing can happen to us that God will not help us rise above and that He will ultimately turn around for good and use to our advantage. Trials need no longer to be a feared enemy, but an opportunity for our faith to be challenged and to grow.