Life is tough.
Whether taught or not we know it’s true. Jesus taught the truth. He never promised life with Him would be easy. In fact, he taught the opposite. He was constantly coaching how to persevere through the storm, not on how to get out of the storm. His own example is remarkable. We find Him and his disciples in the middle of a terrifying storm on the Sea of Galilee. The reason they were in the storm to begin with is because Jesus sent them out into it.
As the storm increased in intensity, His disciples were getting very fearful. Where was Jesus at this critic time when the disciples needed help? Asleep. On a pillow. This is the only mention in the entire bible of “pillow”. Jesus mentioned before that the Son of Man had know where to lay His head but in this case He had found a nice soft comfy pillow. In contrast, His disciples were definitely not asleep. They were afraid of losing their lives, screaming “we are perishing!”.
A repeated lesson.
This real life event is recorded three times for us to display its significance in Matthew 8, Mark 4 and Luke 8. In addition, this same epic event occurred a long time before when Jesus appeared in the fire with Daniel’s friends; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. Though they were in the fire, they were not panicked because Jesus was there with them. He helped them through it.
The choice is ours.
Like Daniel’s friends and the disciples, God will periodically give us character tests that involve fiery trials. A person’s fiery trial may be different depending on what effects you the most. The Lord will purposefully allow us in a trial to show us where we are at with Him. Do we think we’re in the fire alone? Are we mad we’re in the fire? Do we want out as quick as possible? Are we bitter at God, angry, depressed? Or, are we able to cry out to Him and rest? Do we cry out to Him for help and hand the trial over to Him, trusting that He has allowed it for some eternal reason we cannot see at the moment. This is a faith test and it’s not easy to pass. When (not if) we find ourselves in a fiery trial, it’s up to us to choose to either trust and obey or push Gods away.
More at stake than just us.
The next time you find yourself being tested in a trial, choose to seek God for help because He loves you and truly works all things together for good for you. Trust that He has allowed the trial for reasons beyond your understanding at the time but have faith that He will see you through. He will stand in the fire with you and He will carry you out. Then, you will be able to look back and be glad you didn’t curse God and die as Job’s wife wanted Job to do. The truth is, if you curse God in your trial, your soul will die. It will wither and falter. You will struggle and fall. If you trust God He will carry you through. He will be faithful and you will come out of the trial stronger in Him, stronger in your faith and people will praise God for what He did through your life. Your trial testimony may even bring others out of the gates of hell and into heaven for all of eternity. There may be a whole lot more at stake with your response to a trial than you have any idea about.
