The Trials of Life

But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior..." Isaiah 43:1-3a NKJV In times of struggle, this has always been one of my "go to" Scriptures. It offers me reassurance that I am not in the fight alone. It reminds me that GOD is always at my side. It calms my fears when I am facing the uncertainties of life. Lord knows I have experienced many of those throughout my life--both before & after my salvation. Granted, I made a lot of bad choices along the way & once those seeds were sown, the harvest was sure to come. There are consequences for our actions of willful disobedience to the Lord. It all comes down to that stinking free will He gave us! And, Satan--boy, does he know how to push our buttons... I am reminded of a story I once heard about a boy with a bad temper. His father instructed him to go out back & hammer nails in the fence when he lost his temper. Day after day, week after week--the boy beat & hammered nails into the fence boards working through his frustration. Slowly, he began to gain control of that terrible temper. Then, the wise father told him to remove a nail each day he didn't let anger win. Daily, the boy dutifully pulled one nail until the day arrived that he was able to tell his father there were no more nails in the fence. The father led the son outdoors & told him how well he had done but finished with a lesson about the holes left in the fence after the nails were removed. It is good to say I'm sorry, but once the wound has been delivered a scar will remain. Words & actions do damage... So, yes--we mess in our nest, so to speak, at times. We create our own problems by speaking or acting without thinking. We think GOD isn't acting fast enough, so we devise our own plan to get the process moving along. How wrong! Remember what happened when Abraham & Sarah tried to help GOD's plan by allowing him to create a child with Hagar? Remember when King David looked lustfully at Bathsheba & the disastrous events that occurred as a result? We are not alone in our desires. We are actually in great company. Many people in Biblical times tried to do things in their own way. It is not a new game at all. King Solomon stated "there is nothing new under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 1:9) How true! Trials come our way in life. That shouldn't suprise us. If the King of Kings & Lord of Lords experienced the trials of humanity in His sinless state, how much more should sin-sick man encounter trials? James 1:2-4 tells us, "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." Additionally, 1 Peter 1:6-7 states "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, 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, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ" Trials have purpose--they stretch us beyond our comfort zone, they make us think outside the box, they force us to look at alternate perspectives--in doing so, they grow our faith and deepen our trust in The One who walks with us through this life, preparing us for the Eternal Life yet to come. Fact is, we will be a work in progress until we draw our final breath--unless of course Jesus returns to take us home to Glory. Life is something like Spring training or maybe boot camp. It is designed to shape & mold us, to remove the rough edges & polish us up to be the jewels GOD sees us as. What wonders await us across that Crystal Sea and on those streets of gold! But until we get there, we must fight the battle here in a world seemingly gone mad--one that appears to have declared war on all things Christian. Tired, frustrated, battle-weary as though we may be--we must fight, knowing He walks with us through the fires of life... Fight on, fellow soldier--the battle is the Lord's! Blessings! Tony