James 1:12-17 NIV Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
Do you feel like you have hit a wall and there is no hope moving forward? You might be battling a difficult spell of depression, have a serious illness, or have just lost your job. When these things happen it can feel like your entire world is crumbling around you.
When you’re hurting and crying out for help, God hears you. When you are struggling, God is walking next to you. When you feel the most alone, God is working to turn your life around.
If you feel you have no hope in your life, turn to God. He is so powerful that He can transform even the worst of situations into something beautiful. God is working behind the scenes for you to turn your pain into hope, here’s how.
God is Always in Control
It can be difficult to imagine why God would ever let someone suffer, but the truth is that God is always in control. Nothing happens in your life that He is not aware of. God has a great plan for your life! He knows that you will struggle through painful situations, but He can sustain you during the worst of times. We can rely on God when we are struggling, because we know He is in control.
2 Corinthians 1:8-9 NIV We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 NIV We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
God Won’t Fail You
1 Peter 4:19 NIV So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.
If God is allowing your suffering and you are dealing with it in a manner that pleases Him, keep on doing what is right and trust God
God promises that He will never leave you.
Deuteronomy 31:6 NIV Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Even when terrible things happen in your life, Jesus is by your side. There is absolutely nothing that He can’t take on and win. Even the enemy trembles when you say His name!
James 2:19 NIV You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
Do you feel like you have hit a wall and there is no hope moving forward? You might be battling a difficult spell of depression, have a serious illness, or have just lost your job. When these things happen it can feel like your entire world is crumbling around you.
When you’re hurting and crying out for help, God hears you. When you are struggling, God is walking next to you. When you feel the most alone, God is working to turn your life around.
If you feel you have no hope in your life, turn to God. He is so powerful that He can transform even the worst of situations into something beautiful. God is working behind the scenes for you to turn your pain into hope, here’s how.
God is Always in Control
It can be difficult to imagine why God would ever let someone suffer, but the truth is that God is always in control. Nothing happens in your life that He is not aware of. God has a great plan for your life! He knows that you will struggle through painful situations, but He can sustain you during the worst of times. We can rely on God when we are struggling, because we know He is in control.
2 Corinthians 1:8-9 NIV We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 NIV We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
God Won’t Fail You
1 Peter 4:19 NIV So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.
If God is allowing your suffering and you are dealing with it in a manner that pleases Him, keep on doing what is right and trust God
God promises that He will never leave you.
Deuteronomy 31:6 NIV Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Even when terrible things happen in your life, Jesus is by your side. There is absolutely nothing that He can’t take on and win. Even the enemy trembles when you say His name!
James 2:19 NIV You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
God Tests Your Faith through Difficulties
By Rick Warren
“You are temporarily harassed by all kinds of trials and temptations. This is no accident—it happens to prove your faith” (1 Peter 1:6-7 PHILLIPS).
Do you ever have days when nothing seems to go right?
I once heard about a guy whose apartment was flooded from a broken pipe in the upstairs apartment. His manager said to go rent a water vacuum, but he couldn’t—his car had a flat tire. He changed it and went inside again to phone a friend but got an electric shock from the phone. That startled him and he unintentionally ripped the phone off the wall. During that time, the water damage had jammed the door to his apartment, so a neighbor had to kick down the apartment door. While all this was going on, somebody stole the guy’s car—but it was almost out of gas. He found the car a few blocks away and had to push it to a gas station to fill up the tank. When he got back home, he discovered that four of his canaries had been crushed to death by falling plaster in his apartment. After slipping on the wet carpet and badly injuring his tailbone, this guy began to wonder if “God wanted me dead but kept missing.”
Even if you’ve never had a day quite that bad, you’ve likely discovered that life is full of problems, pressures, and stresses.
Did you know that the Bible says we shouldn’t be surprised by life’s problems? It says, “You are temporarily harassed by all kinds of trials and temptations. This is no accident—it happens to prove your faith” (1 Peter 1:6-7 PHILLIPS).
If you are a believer, nothing comes into your life by accident. Everything is Father-filtered. The Bible doesn’t say everything’s good. But as Romans 8:28 says, “God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (NLT)—even the difficulties, the irritations, and the interruptions. They all have a purpose.
We don’t usually realize it when we’re in the situation and may not want to admit it afterward, but every problem has a greater purpose: God does it to prove our faith.
So how does God want you to respond to difficulties? James 1:2-3 says, “Consider yourselves fortunate when all kinds of trials come your way, for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing such trials, the result is the ability to endure” (GNT).
God uses difficulties to test your faith, and you increase in faith when you rejoice continually and keep a positive attitude in spite of things not going right.
When you remain grateful and positive and continue trusting God even in the middle of difficulties, your faith is stretched.
13 Reasons That God Allows Us To Go Through Trials
Deuteronomy 8:1-11 NIV Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors. Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord . Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you. Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to him and revering him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills. When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day.
Deuteronomy chapter 8 gives us thirteen reasons that God allows us to go through trials, especially long ones:
1. To humble us
2. To test us
3. To know what is in our hearts
4. To reveal whether we will keep God's commandments or not
5. To humble us to reveal what we hunger for, whether it be good or bad
6. To show us our great need for God's Word
7. To show us His provision
8. So we will know in our hearts that God loves us and cares enough about us to discipline us as His own---just as a loving parent disciplines his own son
9. As motivation to keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him
10. To applicably teach us how to walk in His ways and to fear Him
11. To eventually bring us to a better place so we will be freed up to bless the LORD
12. To free Him up to bless us at a greater level after we obey, walk in His ways, and fear Him
13. To teach us our need for Him so we will not forget to obey Him and we will not reject or neglect Him in the days to come
Trials are difficult but they really show us what we are made of. They reveal the true condition of our hearts, what we think, and what we believe. They ultimately reveal what we truly think about God.
Purpose For Your Pain
You might not see this now, but God has a purpose for the pain that you are going through.
Everything you go through in life is leading you to something greater. It’s okay to ask God what His plan is, and to reveal His purpose for it. He might not answer right away, but through dealing with your circumstances you will begin to see light on the other side.
You Aren’t Alone
Even when you feel like God isn’t there, He’s really standing next to you planning the next steps of your life. He is not letting you go through the pain alone! You can find hope that you have an advocate and teacher walking with you each step of the way.
Hebrews 13:6 NIV So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”
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