Saved From Trials? by Shalene Kearney

My brethren, 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 NKJV

As you can clearly see from the above verses, we as true believers are NOT saved from trials. In fact, we are called to count them as blessings. For they produce patience within us. Too many times when we become believers, we think that being a believer means that our life will be easy. That God, because he has promised to provide everything we need, that we will have it all, and we shouldn't have to endure any more seasons of tears and frustration. Don't let the deceiver convince you of these lies!

God has promised to provide every thing we need, not everything we want. And what He knows we need, and what we think we need, are very seldom the same thing. Yes, sometimes He blesses us beyond what we need. But other times He does not. He will use the circumstances of our lives to grow us in Christ's image. All of our trials and tribulations should be seen as a blessing because they teach us something every time.

Whether it be to view a loved one with compassion, to spend more time with our families, to stop worshipping Mammon (material things), to trust in Him, or a host of other lessons that we all need to learn in order to be like Christ. These are all reasons that we have trials. We also have trials because of our own choices sometimes. And this is when the Lord uses our trials to discipline us. Like a parent to a child: we don't discipline our children to cause them pain. We discipline them to teach them a lesson that is essential to their well being and to prevent a worse lesson being learned later, by their continued disobedience.

This is a hard concept for many unbelievers to grasp. They think that because God is love, that he should be only cuddly, and comforting. They forget that God is also just. He cannot discipline one and not the other for disobedience (believers and unbelievers alike.) By His very nature, He must discipline us.

I thank God every day for the trials that He brought me through. Though some were quite painful: the death of my mother, a near divorce from my wonderful spouse, two miscarriages, and many others, I would not go back and change the fact that I experienced them. They made me who I am today, and have led me to an even stronger faith with every trial I face. I know that if there is a trial, the Lord is teaching me something. In fact without the death of my mother and my very near divorce, I would not have come back to the Lord at all, probably. Sometimes God will bring us to our knees with the trials He allows. I say again. Count them as blessings. While they may hurt, and they may not end quickly, the Lord will bring you through them if you hold strong to your faith in Him and Him alone.

Think of God as the best parent ever. He loves you no matter what, period. He ONLY wants what is best for you! He wants to provide for your every need. He wants to comfort you when you're hurting. He wants so much for us, but He does not promise to take away the trials of this world. Without them we do not grow.

--Lord, today I thank you again for teaching me and disciplining me. I know you are abba, Father. I know that with out your loving discipline I would be lost today. I pray that those reading my words, and even those that aren't will count their trials today as blessings from you, rather than some unjust punishment. Knowing that whether it's discipline that You are providing, or just a "workshop" to grow our faith in You, that You have a plan for us, and that plan is for our good. Lord I glorify Your Holy Name today. I pray these things in Jesus Holy Name. Amen.