Enduring Trials

The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.

1 Corinthians 10:13

WHEN YOU GO THROUGH DARK TIMES, it’s easy to imagine that no one else can understand and that no one has ever suffered like you. Yet the apostle Paul—a man beaten and imprisoned for his faith—could declare that trials are trials and that somebody has already victoriously gone through whatever you are facing. The exact details may not be the same, but the core experience is: the feeling of loss, the agony of separation, the humiliation of failure, the anger at injustice, the heartbreak of broken relationships, the frustration of loneliness, the emptiness of grief, the pain of illness and disease. In a fallen world, this is our common lot. You’re not the first person to walk a path of suffering.

God knows exactly what you can bear. He is faithful. He lives within you to give you strength (Philippians 4:13). He comforts you in your sorrows (2 Corinthians 1:4). His grace is sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9). If you bear your trials with confidence in God’s goodness and power, your heart will find peace. You will be able to step through your heavenly escape hatch, bloodied but not beaten.

Self-pity, bitterness, lashing out, or giving up are signs of a temper tantrum against God. Don’t let yourself go there. Fight to take every thought captive to obey Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). Depend on His grace to sustain you in the tough times. He will come through for you. He is faithful.

BOTTOM LINE

Whatever you’re going through, you can handle it with dignity and grace through the power of Christ in you.

Moment of Strength: James 5:10-11