Through Trials and Suffering...

"To every thing there is a season,
and a time to every purpose
under the heaven...
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;"
Ecclesiastes 3:1,4

As life goes on, we all experience
different seasons in our lives.
As these verses say, life isn't just
'woopty doo' and all fun;
there will be times of
hard trials and sufferings.
Though we have no option
of if we want the trial or not,
we do have, basically, 2 choices:

§ To turn from the Lord,become discouraged or even bitter;
§ Or to draw closer to Him than we've ever been before.

And, as with all things, there are
consequences with which we choose.
If we say we've had enough, throw up our hands,
and are 'through with living for God',

then we've made the obvious foolish choice

and will reap the consequences.
We will no longer be able to experience the joy
and peacefulness of our salvation;
we break our Heavenly Father's heart,
as well as others' around us.

So then maybe we should just pretend

it's not really happening or hurting us,

and we decide to take it as "nothing".
We just keep it in the back of our minds and

try, half-heartedly, to 'trust in the Lord',

because it really might work out after all.

Oh yes! This seems to work!
But suddenly, I don't seem to get the same feeling

when I pray or am in God's Word.
Why does God seem so far away?
Well, just because we think we've dealt with something
or 'pushed it aside', doesn't mean it isn't there.
Satan will always try to creep in where he can and say,
'You can't handle this! It's too hard!'
But let's remember:

"I can do all things through Christ
which strengtheneth me." Philippians 4:13
The fact is, we can do nothing on our own.

When a soilder would get wounded from an arrow in battle,
he could either leave it in and 'deal with the pain' or remove it.
If he leaves it in, it will cause an infection and he'll end up dying:
but removing it would be so painful!
Plus, he couldn't do it on his own...
he might not remove it all the way or he may cause more damage.
He has to trust an experienced one to remove it for him.

Well, we can't just leave that 'arrow' in and 'deal with it'
or 'tough it out'; that will ruin us.
We cannot trust in our own knowledge of the matter.
We need to trust in a much Higher and experienced One
to lift the load, rather than try to do it ourselves.
"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart;
and lean not unto thine own understanding." Proverbs 3:5
We must fall on our knees and cry out to God

that we simply cannot handle a situation on our own.
Yes, it can really hurt sometimes to let something go,

especially if it, at the time, seems dear to us go.
But completley give it all over to the Lord
and He'll not only free you from your heavy burden!...
He'll bandage the wound, pick you up, hold your hand,

heal you, and see you through.
He'll never let go!

"Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee:
he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."
Psalms 55:22

"For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand,
saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee."
Isaiah 41:13

He promises never to leave us or forsake us,
no matter how hard times will get.
What a friend we have in Jesus!

The purpose of trials is to grow us more like Him
and to bring us closer to Him.
If we missed that, then we'll certainly feel
our suffering was in vain (and it will be in that case).
But, "And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God..."
Romans 8:28

If we hearken unto God and turn to Him,
then He will grow us and draw us closer to Him.
And any trial is worth that, really.

As the beginning verses say,
there is a time for everthing.
Our trials will not last forever, praise God!
"...weeping may endure for a night,

but joy cometh in the morning." Psalm 30:5
When we pour out our heart to the Lord,
He will give us that peace and joy we've been thirsting for.

And something that really helps me to keep going...
"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time
are not worthy to be compared with the glory
which shall be revealed in us."
Romans 8:18

The hardness at which we suffer down here
is not even worthy to be compared with
the greatness and glory that awaits us in heaven!
To think that one day I will see Jesus face-to-face
and hold His nail-scarred hand as we walk

down streets of gold together:
that's enough to make one shout

"Amen and glory to God!" 100 times a day or more!
The One who was always there,

Who carries us through the deep waters,
Who we can tell everything to, pouring our hearts out,
and Who cares and understands like no one else,
is waiting to greet us over in Gloryland...

where no more sorrow is!

Praise God!


(graphic from allposters.com)