Rev. Christopher Olalekan O Alawode
James 1: 2-3: “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”
You are bound to face trials in life especially if you have a vision for your life. Therefore, you should try to be spiritually filled any time that you are aspiring to move ahead in your profession or business. You might face trials even after you might be thinking that you have achieved your dreams. Trials may also come even when God intends to bless you. Job faced various trials when he was even in a good relationship with God. Therefore, it is not only the apostates, unbelievers, and sinners that fall into trials; trials are not restricted to the unbelievers alone.
Job’s story in the Bible exposes how trials do happen. He had a good record with God, and for that reason Satan hated him. The Bible writes, Job 2: 1-3: “The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause.” A lesson to learn from Job’s issue is written in 1st Corinthians 10: 12: “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” Consistent prayer is the way out; this was what the children of Israel did when they were wandering in the wilderness; they found no place to stay. The Bible writes, “Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses” Psalm 107: 1-7.
The Lord will always listen to the cries of the Believers; the more reason why prayer is essential. Especially Prayers that are offered in the name of Jesus Christ; it is written, “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and those on earth, and those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” Philippians 2: 9-11.
Make nobody a scapegoat for your trials; life’s trials are not always the work of the enemy. Sometimes God permits trials to make Believers to understand the limit of their faith; life’s trials are like the red light in our vehicles urging us to refill the engine oil. The Bible tells the story of when Jesus and His disciples were in the boat ‘crossing over to the other side.’ It is written, “And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat so it was already filling. But He (Jesus) was in the stern asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing? Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea “Peace be still! “And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.” The Bible makes it clear that the disciples were surprised that Jesus has power to control the wind and the sea: “And they feared exceedingly and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the sea and the wind obey Him.” Mark 4: 35-41.
This is how most of us feel most times when we face trials and we are praying without results. The truth is that God doesn’t light the way in advance, but He promises, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.” Isaiah 43:2. And His promise in the Bible never fails for those who believe. He also says in the Bible, “I will go before you and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places that you may know that I the Lord, who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel” Isaiah 45: 2-3.
Don’t abandon your vision because of your trials. Ask God to show His power as He did in the Wilderness for the children of Israel when they found nowhere to stay. God doesn’t want us to remain in the same position without making any progress in life. He was not happy with the children of Israel when they stayed for too long on Mount Seir. He called on Moses and warned him to proceed because they were staying too long where they were. The Bible writes, “Then we turned and journeyed into the wilderness of the Way of the Red Sea, as the Lord spoke to me, and we skirted Mount Seir for many days. And the Lord spoke to me, saying, “You have skirted this mountain long enough; turn northward.” Deuteronomy 2: 1-3. God’s desire for us is to make progress in life. This doesn’t mean that we will not face trials on our way to success. Every forward movement of Jesus and His disciples in the Bible always involved one trial or the other.
Another incident as it is written in the Bible is when He asked His disciples to go before Him to the other side of Bethsaida. The Bible writes, “He departed to the mountain to pray.” And while He was alone praying on the mountain, He saw His disciples battling with the wind in the middle of the night. He decided to go and meet them; the Bible writes, “He came to them walking on the sea, and would have passed them by.” The story says when His disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they thought He was a ghost, and they were afraid. It is written further, “But immediately He talked to them, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” Jesus joined them in the boat; there and then their minds were at rest Mark 6:48-51. This proves that the Lord will never abandon us any time that we face various trials when we are pursuing our life’s dreams, that which will give glory to Him.
David is recognized as one of the Faith Generals in the Bible whose experiences teach us about trials. In one of his Psalms, it is written, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; ‘For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” Psalm 23: 4. David revealed in that Psalm that no matter how dark the way is, the Lord is there to direct him. Therefore, when you fall into trials, don’t trust in your own wisdom. The Bible warns Believers in the Book of Proverbs, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” Proverbs 3: 5-6.
The story about the journey of Paul to Rome in the Bible is full of lessons to learn from. The centurion in the ship preferred trusting the word of man to that of the Spirit of God. This story in the Book of Acts reveals what happens when the flesh is given prominence above the Spirit. Paul advised the centurion based on what he (Paul) perceived through the Spirit: He said to the centurion and the co-passengers: “Men, I perceived that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives.” The Bible writes, “Nevertheless the centurion was more persuaded by the helmsman and the owner of the ship than by the vision that Paul revealed.” Had Paul not been in the ship, the centurion, his men, and other passengers would have perished. When they were all panicking, Paul gave them the assurance that God had given him about the journey – Acts 27: 1-40.
We should also remember when Abraham decided to find a solution to his problem in his own way. It was when God’s promise of heir didn’t materialize quickly that he decided to do it his own way by fathering Ishmael, and he thereby created domestic problems for himself, and one that would last for generations. Also, it was Moses’ failure to look up to God when he was growing up in the land of Egypt that led him to flee into exile. This incident happened after he realized that he was a Hebrew citizen, and not Egypt. Therefore, when he found an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, the Bible writes, “So he looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. His failure or ignorance made him do things his own way. And a day after he had killed the Egyptian, he again intervened in a similar tussle between two Hebrew men; one of them said to him, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” This led him to flee to the land of Midian, where he was for forty years where God called him for His service Exodus 2: 11-15. God never abandons us in times of our trials; Moses was later called by God to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt – Exodus 3: 1-12.
Another story confirming that God watches over us in the time of trials is that of Prophet Elijah in the Bible. It teaches us to understand that trials do not mean the end of our dreams in life. Prophet Elijah’s story in the Bible is another testimony which tells us that God does not abandon us when we are facing trials while we are doing whatever will give glory to Him. It happened that after Prophet Elijah had prophesied to Ahab that “There shall not be dew nor rain these years except at my word,” the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook, which flows into the Jordan. And I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” Elijah’s life was saved from the hand of King Ahab; the Lord arranged the ravens to feed him where he was directed to stay, and there also was water for him. The Lord did not abandon Elijah throughout the period of his trials. And even when the supply of the edibles was exhausted where he was, the Lord also arranged that he should be fed by an impoverished widow; and because of her obedience to God’s word she also became – 1 Kings 17: 1-16. When you fall into various trials don’t abandon your faith in the Lord, inasmuch as your trials tally with what will give glory to God. The Bible says, “For His anger is but for a moment, His favour is for life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” Psalm 30:5.
It is at the time of our trials that the Lord gives us most of our best visions. The Bible writes, “Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness; he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous” Psalm 112: 4. Job’s life story is a lesson for every Believer; the Bible quotes his encouraging words that are faith-emboldening. Job was steadfast in his faith in God to an extent that his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!” The Bible writes, “But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” The Bible states further, “In all this Job did not sin with his lips” Job 2: 9-10. Job is a “Faith General” when it comes to surviving through trials without abandoning one’s faith. He never once doubted God even when his friends came to ridicule him. When they came to visit him, the Bible writes, “And when they raised their eyes from afar, and did not recognize him, they lifted their voices and wept; and each one tore his robe and sprinkled dust on his head toward heaven” Job 2: 11-12. Job had lost the beauty of his body features that he could hardly be recognized by his friends. Job’s friends later disagreed with his faithfulness. One of his friends humiliated him in Job 11: 5-6: Zophar the Nanathite said to Job, “But oh, that God would speak, and open His lips against you, that He would show you the secrets of wisdom! For they would doubt your prudence. Know therefore that God exacts from you less than your iniquity deserves.” Job did not banter words with his friends; he permitted them to express their opinions on his situation. But it got to a stage that he had to give them some wise words to counter their tautology. Job responded, saying, “But He (God) knows the way I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.” He informed them that he had never departed from the way of God – Job 23: 10- 17.
The end of Job’s story confirms that whoever endures trials to the end will “come forth as gold.” Therefore, no matter the trials the type of trial that you might be going through in life- do not depart not from the word of God. Do not take the advice of anyone who might believe that he or she is wiser than you. There’s a saying that says, “He who wears the shoes knows where it pains.” The wise word of Job says, “But He knows the way I take; when he has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.” Throughout his trials, Job did not hold any grudge against his friends who assumed to be holier than him. Therefore Believers should not hold any grudge against anyone; though trials may not come by God’s decision, but it never comes without His consent. God will not permit you to face any trial that will not be of benefit to you afterward, and which also will bring glory to Him. You are precious to God so long as you live by faith; the Bible writes in Zechariah 2: 8: “For thus says the Lord of hosts: He sent Me after glory to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of God His eye.” The story of any Believer that falls into trial without compromising his faith will end as the Bible writes in Job 42: 10-16: “And the Lord restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed, the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before”
*Thank you for reading this message with understanding; please check every Bible verse quoted to understand the message better. The Lord will answer your prayer and bless you more than you expect in Jesus Christ name.
