I have come to realise that without trials, one doesn’t need God. Yes, we pay lip service to how good and faithful God is but we don’t fully appreciate His goodness and faithfulness until we hit a brick wall and crumple into a heap.
No wonder James tells us to “count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” (James 1:2-4)
For truly, without trials, we don’t need to depend wholeheartedly on God. We can still rely on our own strength and capabilites.
Our faith is tested in times of trials. Do we get angry at God? Do we give up on God? Do we cling on tightly to God?
For me, there is no other God to serve. He is God. The one and only true God. I don’t understand why He does what He does most times but He is a good God. He wants what’s best for me, His created creature – which may or may not include material possesions. But his ultimate goal is to transform me into the likeness of His Son, Jesus Christ.
And trials do that. Read James 1:2 -4 again, especially verse 4. “But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing”. He wants us to be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
He is not an indulgent parent, giving in to my whims and fancies. He wants me to reflect the glory of His Son to those around me that they too will want what I have. Then He can have the joy of having them in His Kingdom as well.
I may not always acknowledge Him, being carnal and proud but I depend on God for everything. One day I will post my testimony of His grace upon my life that I shared at the Metropole YMCA Lunchtime Fellowship.
A person with no trials in his or her life may seemingly have a good life but a faith that is not tested is not faith. As Reverend Francis shared in one of his sermons at Covenant Vision Christian Church, “How can you be an overcomer if you have not overcomed?” 🙂
May you sit and reflect on your life – the good and the bad and the in-betweens.
Do YOU depend on God? Or do you depend on yourself? Your parents? Your dh? The maid? Friends? Church?
Trials are not pleasant. They can be a downright pain in the you-know–where but it does bring us one step closer to God if we let Him do His work in us. If we resist, then we miss what He wanted to give us.
This is not being perverse, welcoming ill-fortune into our lives. No. This is not what I mean. I refer to the trials God allows, not trials that result from our foolishness or pride or sin. Although, even with those trials, God can work His miracle and blessings into our lives. If we would let him. 🙂