How many of you have ever cried out to God and said you are so tired of enduring trials, tribulations and tests.
My prayer has been, “God, please no more. Have I not passed this test? Please have mercy. God, I am weary, please give me rest.”
Believe me, my family and I have lived through some very difficult trials in our walk with God, but God has shown me that it is even harder to grow in Christian maturity without them.
Like many others, we've battled illness, finances, disappointments, transitions, new surroundings and personal character attacks that have brought us to our knees in prayer.
We don't have to like some of the mountains we have to face in life, but we do have to climb them as part of God's plan. It's taken me a long time to realize that we must do it in his way and in his timing.
That's the difficult part.
God's purpose when we face any trial from him is to give us endurance, to make our faith and character stronger.
In James 1:2-4 we read, "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."
The way we approach our trials is ultimately our own decision. We are the key to determining whether our trials are viewed as stepping stones or stumbling blocks.
I was looking out the window in the back of our home the other day and my attention was drawn to a rustic walkway of stepping stones that has been positioned leading from our deck to a small shed.
The stones have been laid in sort of winding fashion. Some are laying flat and level, while other are raised a bit to align with the contour of the ground.
Life is like that pathway. The path is not always smooth, but it does lead us to where we are going.
God does know what is along the path, even if we do not.
How do we turn adversity into a stepping-stone and not a stumbling block?
How can we make a bad experience become a learning experience?
Part of the answer lies in perspective. How we choose to lead our lives and how we make faith part of our lives ultimately helps us face the challenges that come to everyone in this earthly existence.
There are many days that I have had to rely on my faith alone to get through, but looking back, God has always brought me through – and he continues to do it.
Our hope in Christ tell us there are better days coming.
There is a difference in knowing there is a light at the end of the tunnel and only hoping that to be the case. God's promise that our trials will make us stronger and always work for our good, regardless of the circumstances, should impact the way we approach life; mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually.
God has a plan prepared to allow our trials, successfully endured, to become a positive benefit, not only to each of us individually, but also to others.
The Word says we overcome by what? We overcome by the The Word of our testimony.
Trials are testimony builders.
Let our testimony be words that are stepping stone and not stumbling blocks for others.
These morning messages are now available by email. Simply write me with you email address at schneider.nick@gmail.com, and I'll be happy to forward them to your in-box.
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