Faith Through Trials

Posted on 2013/6/19/ by June

Originally written by Charles H Spurgeon


“… for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith, of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire, may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
1 Peter 1:6b-7

Untested faith may be real faith, but it is sure to be immature faith. It is likely to remain immature as long as it never faces difficulties.

When all things seem against it, faith often prospers. Storms are faith’s illuminators. When a calm reigns on the sea, spreading a ship’s sails is futile because the ship will never leave its harbor. However, when the howling winds rush forth causing the water to crash intensely around the ship, even though the vessel may rock and its deck may be flooded by the waves, it is only then that it will progress towards its destination.

No stars gleam as brightly as those which glisten in the polar sky. No water tastes so sweet as that which springs amid the desert sand. And no faith is so precious as that which lives and triumphs through adversity. Tested faith brings experience. You would never have believed your own weakness had you not needed to pass through trials. And you would never have known God’s strength had His strength not been needed to carry you through. Faith is precious, and since they may build faith they are precious too.

This shouldn’t, however, discourage anyone who is young in faith. You’ll face enough trials without even looking for them! These faith building tests will be measured out to you in due time. Meanwhile, if you currently lack experience, thank God for what grace you’ve received and praise Him for the degree of holy confidence you’ve attained so far, while honestly asking Him to bring you even more. Continue to walk in faith, and, through success and adversity, you will have more and more of the blessing of God until your faith is powerful enough to move mountains!

Question: What trials have you faced lately, and how could they be working to mature your faith?

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2013/06/19/cs_faith-through-trials/

Updated to modern English, by Darren Hewer, 2008.

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Choose Carefully

Posted on 2013/6/19/ by June

By Gail Rodgers

Do you ever feel like God has not lived up to your expectation in some particular circumstance of your life? Perhaps you have believed… yet nothing has happened. When you feel confused and wondering if God has let you down, you have a choice to make.

You can choose to be offended at God’s seeming silence and disinterest and allow doubt to slip into your heart… or… you can choose to believe God loves you with a lavish love and has your best interest at heart… even when things seem to make no sense to you.

Jesus addressed this very thing. In His words to John the Baptist He says what our hearts still need to hear today…

“Blessed are those who don’t doubt me.” (Matthew 11:6 The Living Bible)

Times come to all of us when God’s activity in our lives seems to make no sense. We wonder at the circumstances we find ourselves in and we may sometimes even feel abandoned by God. We could easily slip into doubting our great God.

Yet God tells us…

  •     He will never leave us nor forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5)
  •     He has lavished His great love on us. (1 John 3:1)
  •     He cares about the burdens we carry and invites us to cast them on Him to carry for us. (1 Peter 5:7)
  •     He invites us to learn His ways and find rest for our weary and burdened souls. (Matthew 11:2)

If your heart is heavy today because you feel confused about what God is doing in your life, know that you have a choice to make.

You can let doubt in Him slip in and permeate your soul… or you can let these truths penetrate your heart. Each will bring its own result. Choose carefully.

Jesus promises you will be blessed when you choose to keep trusting Him even when it seems to make no sense. Ask Him to help you keep your fragile faith intact and leave your hand in His. He will be true to His word and you will be blessed as you trust our faithful God.

Father God, Today I call out and ask You to increase my faith. It feels tattered and worn in the confusion of my present circumstance. Help Your truths to penetrate my heart and my mind. Help me as I choose to trust You, my faithful God. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2013/06/19/gr_choose-carefully/

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Running the Race

Posted on 2013/6/18/ by June

by Helen Grace Lescheid

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” (Hebrews 12:1).

In the famous movie, “Chariots of Fire,” there is a scene of athlete Harold Abrahams reviewing a race with his trainer. He had lost the race by mere seconds. To his chagrin, he had momentarily looked around to see where the other runner was at. This small act had made the difference between victory and defeat.

In the Christian race, also, we are tempted to look around to see what’s happening with the other runners. We compare our lives with the lives of others. It’s funny, when I compare my struggles with the struggles of others, I seem to have more. When I compare my successes with the successes of others, I seem to have less!  What is the result of such comparison? I begin to doubt the goodness of God towards me. Feeling short-changed, my enthusiasm drains away. Discouragement sets in. My feet begin to lag. I don’t run as well.

“Those who compare are not wise,” the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 10:12.

We are to throw off everything that hinders. That means we are not to ask, “How am I running in comparison to others?”

We are to run with perseverance the race that’s marked out for us.

God has marked out a specific track for each of us (Psalm 25:12). He is our personal trainer instructing us how to run the race. He wants us to look to Him.

Looking to Jesus, boosts our confidence. It energizes us to run our absolute best.

Lord Jesus, help me to run my race with perseverance and joy. I look to you for my strength and inspiration.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2013/06/18/hl_running-the-race/

To read more of Helen’s writings or to buy a book, go to http://www.helenlescheid.com
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Avoiding the Rearview Mirror

Posted on 2013/6/18/ by June

by Rick Warren

“Put your heart right, Job. Reach out to God …. Then face the world again, firm and courageous. Then all your troubles will fade from your memory, like floods that are past and remembered no more.”
Job 11:13, 15-16 (GNT)

You can learn a lot by looking at your past. You’ve heard the saying, “Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it.” That’s true — but it’s only part of the story. You can’t heal the most pervasive, costly wounds in your life by focusing only on your past. To defeat those giants, you’ll have to look ahead.

Too often we try to find healing by looking in our rearview mirrors. When we do that, we’re more likely to crash than heal.

In Job 11, God tells us clearly how to get rid of painful memories and move on with our lives. He says, “Put your heart right, Job. Reach out to God …. Then face the world again, firm and courageous. Then all your troubles will fade from your memory, like floods that are past and remembered no more” (Job 11:13, 15-16 GNT).

First, put your heart right. You do what’s right — no matter what the other person does. It’s always right to forgive those who’ve hurt you.

Second, reach out to God. Invite Jesus into every room in the house of your heart. Often, we’ve invited him into the front room (accepted Jesus as our Savior) — but not the bedroom, kitchen, or garage.

Third, face the world again. Don’t hide in a shell or withdraw so you don’t get hurt again. Move forward. Learn to live again.

Your past is not your future. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done, who you’ve done it with, or how long you’ve done it. Throughout Scripture, God forgives murderers, adulterers, and slackers, and he uses them to do his work in the world.

You, too, have a great future ahead of you. Put your heart right, reach out to God, and face the world again.

And then let God do something incredible through you.

Think about it:
•    Why is it so easy to look at our past when trying to overcome pain?
•    Who do you need to forgive in order to “put your heart right”?
•    As you reach out to God for healing, into what rooms do you still need to invite Jesus?

In what ways do you “hide in a shell” as you deal with hurt in your life?

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2013/06/18/rw_avoiding-the-rearview-mirror/

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