Your Faith Is on Trial

‘...do not think it strange...’ 1 Peter 4:12 NKJV

Faith in God doesn’t exempt you from life’s trials; it sustains you in them and you grow stronger as a result of them. Trials come in different areas such as sickness, unemployment, relational conflict, and personal challenges. And trials have different time lines; some last a short season, others a lifetime. And trials, like storms, have different intensity levels. But most trials have one thing in common: they make you say, ‘If only I could understand why this has happened.’ The Bible answers this question in two Scriptures: ‘Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all’ (Psalm 34:19 NKJV); and ‘…for a little while…you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honour, and glory…’ (1 Peter 1:6-7 NKJV) God is not Santa Claus or your butler. It’s not His job to give you everything you want, exactly when you want it. Yes, God has promised to bless us, but when you focus on ‘getting’, by implication you question the faith of those who may not have as much as you. That’s a mistake. Claiming God’s promises doesn’t mean you will escape adversity. Who told you that anyway? Not God! His Word says, ‘Do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you.’ Real maturity often takes place in the crucible of pain. The truth is, you’ll never know how strong your faith is until you’ve been there.