Trial of Faith
Copyright © Dave Earley
http://www.InIt-2-WinIt.org
As people, don’t we have the idea that God rewards our faith?
It may be that way initially, but from faith we do not earn anything. Faith brings us into a right relationship with God, and gives Him opportunity to do His work in, and around us.
Frequently, however, God has to knock the bottom out of our experience with Him, to get us in direct contact with Himself. God wants us to understand that life is about faith, and not just about emotional enjoyment of His blessings.
In the beginning, your walk with Him in faith was narrow, and intense, only focused on a small amount of experience, having as much emotion as faith. It was sweet, and full of light. After that, God withdrew His conscious blessings, that He might teach us to walk by faith, and not by sight alone.
You are worth much more to Him now than you were in those emotional days of conscious delight, and thrilling testimony. In its nature faith must be tested, and tried.
The real trial of faith isn’t our difficulty in trusting God, it is that God’s character must be proven as trustworthy in our own minds. In reality, faith must experience times of unbroken isolation.
Do not confuse your trials of faith with the ordinary discipline of life. A lot of the things that we call trials of faith, are actually inevitable results of being alive.
The Bible teaches that faith in God, is a faith that comes against everything that contradicts Him. A faith like that says, “I will be true to God’s character, no matter the cost, no matter what He may do.”
What is the greatest expression of God throughout the whole Bible?
Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. (Job 13:15)
And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
Resource: The Trial of Faith, by Oswald Chambers
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http://www.InIt-2-WinIt.org