The Trials of Life

Let's face it, being a Christian isn't easy; in fact when you decide to repent of your sin and put your faith in God you are in for a life altering change that has now just put you against the world and the greatest enemy of all...satan himself. The tragedy we see today is that false hope of a perfect life is presented to people by many "evangelicals" when in reality that is not what Scripture teaches at all. In fact look at the following:

Matthew 5:10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Matthew 5:12 "Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

John 15:20 "Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also."

2 Timothy 3:12 "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted"

These are just some of the verses we see in Scripture promising us that EVERYONE who is truly saved is going to face hardship, suffering, persuction AKA TRIALS of all kinds.

First of all lets think about what kind of trials the Christian faces...

1) God's Testing- This is a specific trial that God has put you through
2) The Enemies Persecution- Like Job, God allows Satan to test and try the faith of His beloved
3) Self Inflicted- Sin and the consequences of that cause you to go through trials

But what is the purpose of these? Why do we have to go through trial and suffering as a Christian? Why do we have to hurt and feel pain?

Romans 5:3-5 "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. 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. "

1 Peter 1:6-9 "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 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. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. "

Trials of the faith enable us to be refined like gold, they strip away the bad stuff and make us more like Jesus. The trials of our faith enable us to depend more wholly on the Lord, and give us confidence in our salvation. They refocus our minds on what is important...eternity and the hope of heaven. And they allow us to relate to Jesus in a whole new way because He suffered through the most heinous of trials.

So the question then becomes how are you doing on the tests of faith? Are you passing or are you failing? Evidence of your salvation lies in your response to trials in your life. Matthew talks about the parable of the sower and the seeds, and one seed in particular that grew a little or appeared to until the weeds choked it; that represented the person who followed Christ when times were good but deserted Him in the hard times. If you are failing I urge you to ask yourself where your heart is, where your hope is, and why...turn from your sin and put your faith in Christ. If you are struggling through the hard times, find hope and encouragement in the promise that Christ has already wont he victory and as you cling to Him and depend on Him in this tough time you will overcome through His strength, press on. And if you are passing the tests of faith be excited about the confidence you have in the promise of your salvation!!

And although the Christian life is not an easy one there is a peace that transcends understanding, an unexpressible joy, a confident hope and an assurance of what is to come that floods the Christian's heart daily!!