Have you ever wondered, in the midst of some difficulty, “Is God testing me?” Does God, actually, test His people, and, if so, is testing punishment or something else? And what does God do when we fail a test?
As we continue the Genesis story, Joseph will be faced with a test. How would he respond to the brothers who thought about killing him and, eventually, sold him into slavery? And his brothers will face some testing of their own, including the fear that God was punishing them for what they did to Joseph and how Joseph might retaliate.
Today we’ll look at how all that played out and see how it might help us with the tests we face.
Have you ever reached the point where you thought, “I just don’t know how much longer I can do this”?
Maybe you’re exhausted from dealing with a strong-willed child.
Maybe your marriage has become a source of constant hurt and discouragement.
Perhaps you’ve experienced a devastating loss, and the holidays only made the empty place more noticeable.
Maybe you’ve lost a job, suffered a financial setback, received a frightening medical diagnosis, or you’re simply weary from one problem after another.
You’ve prayed.
You’ve tried.
You’ve kept going.
But now you’re tired.
What do you do when you don’t feel as though you have enough strength for one more day?
The people in Zechariah’s day knew something about discouragement.
They had returned to Jerusalem with a job to do. But sixteen years later, the temple still wasn’t finished. Opposition and difficulty had worn them down until the work had nearly stopped.
So God sent Zechariah with a message for Zerubbabel.
It wasn’t:
“Try harder.”
It wasn’t:
“You should be stronger by now.”
Instead, God reminded him where the strength to continue would come from:
“Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says the LORD of hosts.
Perhaps that’s exactly the reminder some of us need today.
Because sometimes God allows us to reach the end of our own strength so we’ll stop depending on it.
So how do we keep going when we’re discouraged, worn down, and tempted to give up?
We’ve all been there. Maybe you’re there right now. You’re going through a trial yet God seems nowhere to be found. And you find yourself wondering why.
You believe His promise to never leave you or forsake you. You believe God answers prayers. But … silence.
We’ve all been there. Maybe you’re there right now. You’re going through a trial yet God seems nowhere to be found. And you find yourself wondering why.
You believe His promise to never leave you or forsake you. You believe God answers prayers. But … silence.
It’s been said that either you have just come out of a trial, are presently in a trial, or are about to go through one. Trials expose our hearts. They remove the dross from our lives–those things which keep us from bringing glory to God as we should. But there are things we need to understand about trials and our responses.
It’s been said that either you have just come out of a trial, are presently in a trial, or are about to go through a trial. That thought can stop us in our tracks because we don’t like trials. At least I don’t and I don’t think I’m alone. But God uses tests, trials, and suffering in our lives as a divine squeeze to let us and others see what’s in our hearts. J.C. Ryle said, “What you are in the day of trial, that you are and nothing more.” Trials show us what we are really made of!
Welcome once again to Mondays @ Soul Survival. Each week I’ll feature a book that I consider a valuable resource. This week’s selection is When Life Is Hard by James MacDonald, one of the best books I have ever read...
