Most of us would say that finding joy in trials is next to impossible, and yet, the Bible commands us to do just that! How is that possible and how can we grow in that ability?
Also, today, do you find yourself praying about the same struggles day after day and week after week … sometimes year after year. Are you tempted to give up or do you feel like you have simply failed God?
Today’s Readings:
1 Samuel 12 & 13
Psalm 56.1-13
Proverbs 15.21-23
Luke 22.47-71
Finding Joy in Trials
1 Samuel 12 & 13:
Saul’s Failure to Trust God
Israel has gotten her demand. A King. King Saul is tall and handsome. He’s a warrior. And he is hardly out of the starting blocks before he’s doing what seems right to him instead of obeying God (1 Sam. 13.5-14).
Saul was to wait for Samuel. But the Philistines had already lined up to do battle with him and his army. An army that was dwindling because many of his men had fled. Seven days passed and no Samuel.
Instead of finding joy and choosing to trust God, he decided to usurp the priestly role and offer his own sacrifice. When Samuel arrived, look at his words to Saul:
13 And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you” (1 Sam. 13.13-14).
Read that again, “For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.”
God was testing Saul, not so He could learn something, but so Saul could see his own heart. He wanted Saul to see where he needed to grow and learn to depend on Him.
The Testing of Our Faith
Just as with Saul, God’s tests in our lives are not for our hurt but intended to show us where we need to grow so He can strengthen and prepare us for His purposes in our lives. But is finding joy during those times really possible?
James 1.2-4 says:
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything (NIV).
Most of us find that challenging. We might even consider it impossible. But is it?
Finding Joy in God’s Character
God is sovereign. He knows everything. In fact, He knows the end from the beginning. Nothing is a surprise to Him. Not inflation or pandemics. Not the trial you’re going through.
God is all-powerful. Like it or not He could have stopped that trial, whatever it is. Just as He could have gotten Samuel to Saul sooner and He could have prevented Saul’s men from running off.
God is also good. He is love. Loving us is not just something He does. It’s His very character. But God’s love is not a pampering love. It’s a purifying love. He has various purposes in allowing trials in our lives. But one we know He has for every believer is that we become progressively conformed to the image of Christ (Rom. 8.28-29). Trials do that if we respond in godly ways.
So, finding joy in trials requires us to know Him and know His character. It requires us to understand the process. Understanding that the testing of our faith develops perseverance and spiritual maturity as James said makes the trial bearable because we realize that it has a purpose.
Finding Joy Requires Faith & Wisdom
But James didn’t stop with verse 4. The rest of that passage says:
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
If you don’t know how to respond to a trial or you don’t understand where and how God wants you to grow, ask. Ask for His wisdom and help. And believe, have faith that He will. Get into His Word. Look for His answers.
A couple of days ago, I listed some of my go-to resources but I’ll list them again in case you missed them. You may have others. But if you don’t know where to look, you can start here. You can find posts and other resources on the Gospel Coalition site. The Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC) website has an abundance of posts and podcasts on issues that we all face, not just counselors. John MacArthur’s website has years of free audios and Ligonier Ministries is another solid source of biblical truth. One that I didn’t list the other day is the Institute for Counseling & Discipleship (IBCD). They have hundreds of audios on every imaginable subject (marriage, parenting, self-harm, depression, anxiety, and many others).
Don’t waste your trials. Allow God to help you grow and as you do, you may find that you are experiencing more joy than you ever thought possible!
Today’s Other Readings:
Luke 22.47-71:
Redeemer of Our Failures
I talked about this yesterday, but have you ever felt you let God down by something you did or failed to do? You told Him, you would never do such and such again, but a day or two or three later … there you are .. again. You may feel like Peter when the rooster crowed and He realized Jesus was looking right at him (Lk. 22.34, 60-61)!
Do you find yourself praying about the same struggles day after day and week after week … sometimes year after year. Maybe you’ve stopped praying about them because you’re sure God is tired of hearing it.
Or maybe you have been tempted to think … “I give up! I’ve tried or I’ve asked God to take this away. He just isn’t listening!”
It’s a struggle many of us have experienced.
God is Listening
But, while He won’t obey for us, God is listening. He has given us His Word as our sword of the Spirit (Lk. 4.4, 8, 12), set us free from the power of sin (Rom. 6.6), and given us His Holy Spirit who empowers us to do what God has called us to do (Phil. 4.13). He has, also, made us part of the body of Christ where we can seek out support and accountability (Jas. 5.16).
We must, in turn, choose to fill our hearts and minds with His truth (Eph. 5.18; Rom. 8.5), believe His promises, burn those bridges that keep us tied to our sin (unwise friendships, going places where we’re tempted to sin, etc.), and obey, even in the little things.
But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil (Heb. 5.14).
Spiritual maturity comes, as I said above, in the midst of our trials and struggles as we “practice” doing what’s right.
Growing, Not Perfect
But the good news is that while He expects us to be growing (Eph. 4.14-15), God knows we won’t do this perfectly.
Peter was devastated by his betrayal. But remember what Jesus had told him:
I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren (22.32).
Jesus knows we will fail, too, sometimes miserably! But our God is a Redeemer of failures! In fact, He’s even able to use our failures for good.
Step out in faith today. Let God redeem your failures. Trust God. He is big enough to handle any problem and to see you through any struggle.
Psalm 56.1-13:
The Size of Our God
In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? (v. 11).
Proverbs 29.25 says:
The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe.
Too often we worry about what someone else will think or do or how they might cause us some harm or trouble. Yet, we give very little thought to what God thinks and neglect to place our complete trust in Him.
That was Saul’s problem. He was more concerned about what the men around him were doing, whether they might leave, and what they thought. He saw them as his strength. Men were big in his mind and God was small. As believers, when we face problems, we are not to look at the size of the problem, but at the size of our God!
Proverbs 15.21-23:
A Fitting Reply
Everyone enjoys a fitting reply; it is wonderful to say the right thing at the right time! (v. 23 NIV).
As we grow in our understanding of God’s Word, it is not only a blessing to see God speak to our hearts, but it also brings joy when He brings to our minds just the right thing to speak to someone else who is hurting!
Coming Up:
In the coming days, we’ll talk about how to tell the difference between godly sorrow and worldly sorrow, one cause of paranoia, how to respond to instruction, what to do to be used by God, and the homework God gives.
I hope you’ll sign up so you don’t miss any of them.
If you would like to receive a FREE downloadable and printable Bible study through the book of Mark, you can click here for more information.
Blessings as you grow in Christ,
Donna ♥
Note about this post:
I began blogging through the Bible in 2012 and have done so every year since then. These posts are the product of many edits and additions throughout those years. Some days I make major changes, other days fewer.
A while ago, I read Jen Wilkin’s book None Like Him about the attributes of God. One is His incomprehensibility. In it, she says, “God is incomprehensible. This does not mean that he is unknowable, but that he is unable to be fully known.”
I have found that to be true each year as I’ve gone back through the Bible. Sometimes I find myself feeling as if a passage just appeared there for the first time. I’m reminded that no matter how many times we read through the Bible, we have only scratched the surface. I hope you feel the same.
Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways,
And how small a whisper we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?” (Job 26.14)
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