Why God Allows Trials And Tribulations

We always hear Christians say things like “I have been doing everything right. I have been fasting and praying, giving, loving my neighbor, obeying the Lord,reading Scripture daily, and walking faithfully with the Lord. What did I do wrong? Why has God allowed me to go through such hard times? Does He not care about me? Am I saved?” To be honest we have all felt a little something like this.

Here is what I have learned on my walk of faith. Be on guard because when you’re asking all these questions and questioning God, Satan will try to attack. He will say, “no he doesn’t love you. Look at those unbelievers who are not going through adversity, but you say Jesus Christ died for you, and yet you are going through the worst troubles of your life.” Don’t let the devil give you fear.

Trials can lead into atheism. When your faith is small the devil can rip it out. Don’t let him put you in despair and bitterness towards God. Don’t ever forget the other times God has delivered you because He will do it again. The devil will try to say it was a coincidence, but with God there is no coincidence. Cry out to God. Block Satan off and always remember that we have victory in Christ.

James 1:12 “God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”

Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Hebrews 10:35-36 “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”

Trials and tribulations quotes

• “Trials teach us what we are; they dig up the soil, and let us see what we are made of.” – Charles Spurgeon

• “Prayer is the best armor against all trials.

• “A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials.”

• Being on a spiritual path does not prevent you from facing the darkness, but it teaches you how to use the darkness as a tool to grow

If anyone is thinking about dating did you talk to God first?

If you haven’t consulted God about it that means that you haven’t asked Him if the person you have met is the person He wants you to marry. Christian dating does not consist of casual dating, which is unbiblical. This type of dating will leave you broken and all over the place and I’m not even talking about sex. Non believers date for fun, for the moment, for a good time, for sex, to not be lonely, to impress people, etc.

If you don’t think that you are going to marry this person and if you don’t feel like God has possibly brought this person into your life for marriage, then stop wasting each other’s time. A relationship is not something to take lightly. Casual dating is a form of lust. It doesn’t always have to be sexual. Lust is always selfish. It is always about I. Lust never seeks the Lord for His will.

Many people think they are in love for reasons such as the person’s looks, communication skills, etc. No, did God send you the person? Do you believe God has called you to commit your life to this person in marriage? Falling in love is not in the Bible. True love is built on actions, choices, etc. It proves itself over time.

Many people get into relationships and when they break up they find out that they were not really in love. There are so many things in this world that help you deceive yourself. For example, sex, physical attraction, looking at other couples, constantly listening to love music, fear, constantly watching love movies, etc.

6. 1 John 2:16 “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”

7. Galatians 5:16 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

8. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 “Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not conceited, does not act improperly, is not selfish, is not provoked, and does not keep a record of wrongs. Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

The Enemy's Perfect Plan

Satan called a worldwide convention. In his opening address to his evil angels, he said, "We can't keep Christians from going to church. We can't keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth. We can't even keep them from conservative values. But we can do something else. We can keep them from forming an intimate, abiding relationship experience in Christ. If they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken. So let them go to church, let them have their conservative lifestyles, but steal their time, so they can't gain that experience in Jesus Christ. This is what I want you to do, angels. Distract them from gaining hold of their Savior and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!" 

"How shall we do this?" shouted his angels. 

"Keep them busy in the nonessentials of life and invent unnumbered schemes to occupy their minds" he answered. "Tempt them to spend, spend, spend then borrow, borrow, borrow. Convince the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work six or seven days a week, ten to twelve hours a day so they can afford their lifestyles. Keep them from spending time with their children. As their family fragments, soon their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work." 

"Overstimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still small voice. Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive, to keep the TV, VCR, CD's and their PC's going constantly in their homes. And see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly. This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ." 

Fill their coffee tables with magazines and newspapers. Pound their minds with news 24 hours a day. Invade their driving moments with billboards. Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, sweepstakes, mail order catalogues, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering, free products, services and false hopes." 

"Even in their recreation, let them be excessive. Have them return from their recreation exhausted, disquieted, and unprepared for the coming week. Don't let them go out in nature to reflect on God's wonders. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, concerts and movies instead. And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences and unsettled emotion." 

"Let them be involved in soul-winning. But crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Christ. Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family unity for the good of the cause." 

It was quite a convention in the end. And the evil angels went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get busy, busy, busy and rush here and there. 

Has the devil been successful at his schemes? You be the judge.

Day 8—Faithfulness

Hebrews 11:1-11 
But the fruit of the Spirit is . . . faithfulness.—Gal. 5:22 

In coming to Christ there must be an exercise of faith. We need to bring Him into our everyday life; then we shall have peace and joy, and we shall know by experience the meaning of His word, “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love” (John 15:10). Our faith must claim the promise, that we may abide in the love of Jesus. Jesus said, “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full” (verse 11).

Faith works by love and purifies the soul. Through faith the Holy Spirit finds access to the heart, and creates holiness therein. Man cannot become an agent to work the works of Christ unless he is in communion with God through the Holy Spirit. We can be fitted for heaven only through a transformation of character; we must have Christ’s righteousness as our credentials, if we would find access to the Father. We must be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. We must daily be transformed by the influence of the Holy Spirit; for it is the work of the Holy Spirit to elevate the taste, to sanctify the heart, to ennoble the whole man, by presenting to the soul the matchless charms of Jesus (Ye Shall Receive Power, p. 77). 

Every act of life, however small, has its bearing for good or for evil. Faithfulness or neglect in what are apparently the smallest duties may open the door for life’s richest blessings or its greatest calamities. It is little things that test the character. It is the unpretending acts of daily self-denial, performed with a cheerful, willing heart, that God smiles upon. We are not to live for self, but for others. And it is only by self-forgetfulness, by cherishing a loving, helpful spirit, that we can make our life a blessing. The little attentions, the small, simple courtesies, go far to make up the sum of life’s happiness, and the neglect of these constitutes no small share of human wretchedness (Conflict and Courage, p. 52).

Upon your faithfulness in this work not only the well-being of others but your own eternal destiny depends. Christ is seeking to uplift all who will be lifted to companionship with Himself, that we may be one with Him as He is one with the Father. He permits us to come in contact with suffering and calamity in order to call us out of our selfishness; He seeks to develop in us the attributes of His character—compassion, tenderness, and love. By accepting this work of ministry we place ourselves in His school, to be fitted for the courts of God (Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 388).

 Those who enter the work as “eye-servants” will find that their work cannot bear the inspection of mortals or of angels. The thing essential for successful work is a knowledge of Christ; for this knowledge will give sound principles of right, [and] impart a noble, unselfish spirit, like that of our Savior whom we profess to serve. Faithfulness, economy, care-taking, thoroughness, should characterize all our work, wherever we may be, whether in the kitchen, in the workshop, in the office of publication, in the sanitarium, in the college, or wherever we are stationed in the vineyard of the Lord. “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much” (Review and Herald,  Sept. 22, 1891).

We are to behold Christ, and by beholding to become changed. We must come to Him, as to an open, inexhaustible fountain, from which we may drink again and again, and ever find a fresh supply. We are to respond to the drawing of His love, to feed on the Bread of Life which came down from heaven, to drink of the Water of Life which flows from the throne of God. We are to keep looking up, that faith may bind us to the throne of God. Do not look down, as though you were bound to the earth. Do not keep up an examination of your faith, pulling it up, as though it were a flower, to see if it has any root. Faith grows imperceptibly (Ye Shall Receive Power, p. 77).

Questions for Personal Reflection 
1. Do you have faith in God even in the most difficult situations? Ask God to increase your faith! Claim His promises.
 2.  Read the last paragraph above. Make a list of things you can do to increase your faith. Ask God to teach you how to apply them in your life.

Day 7—Goodness

Romans 12:9-21 

 But the fruit of the Spirit is . . . goodness.—Gal. 5:22
True goodness is accounted of Heaven as true greatness. The condition of the moral affections determines the worth of the man. A person may have property and intellect, and yet be valueless, because the glowing fire of goodness has never burned upon the altar of his heart.

 Goodness is the result of divine power transforming human nature. By believing in Christ, the fallen race he has redeemed may obtain that faith which works by love and purifies the soul from all defilement. Then Christlike attributes appear: for by beholding Christ men become changed into the same image from glory to glory, from character to character. Good fruit is produced. The character is fashioned after the divine similitude, and integrity, uprightness, and true benevolence are manifested toward the sinful race.

The Lord has placed every human being on test and trial. He desires to prove and to try us, to see if we will be good and do good in this life, to see if he can trust us with eternal riches, and make us members of the royal family, children of the heavenly King. There is no limit to the good you may do. If you make the Word of God the rule of your life, and govern your actions by its precepts, making all your purposes and exertions in the fulfilling of your duty a blessing and not a curse to others, success will crown your efforts.

You have placed yourself in connection with God; you have become a channel of light to others. You are honored by becoming co-laborers with Jesus; and no higher honor can you receive than the blessed benediction from the lips of the Saviour: “Well done, good and faithful servant” (My Life Today, p. 54). 

Questions for Personal Reflection
 1. In what ways have you seen God’s goodness in your life recently? Take some time to thank God for what He has done.
2. What can you do to reflect the same goodness to others? Ask God to show what can you do and to give you the strength to reflect His goodness to others.   

Day 6—Kindness

Philippians 2:1-11 
But the fruit of the Spirit is . . . kindness.—Gal. 5:22 

The Lord will help every one of us where we need help the most in the grand work of overcoming and conquering self. Let the law of kindness be upon your lips and the oil of grace in your heart. This will produce wonderful results. You will be tender, sympathetic, courteous. You need all these graces. The Holy Spirit must be received and brought into your character; then it will be as holy fire, giving forth incense which will rise up to God, not from lips that condemn, but as a healer of the souls of men. Your countenance will express the image of the divine (Ye Shall Receive Power, p. 81). 

No sharp, critical, blunt, or severe words should be spoken. This is common fire, and must be left out of all our councils and intercourse with our brethren. God requires every soul in His service to kindle their censers from the coals of sacred fire. The common, severe, harsh words that come from your lips so readily must be withheld, and the Spirit of God speak through the human agent. By beholding the character of Christ you will become changed into His likeness. The grace of Christ alone can change your heart and then you will reflect the image of the Lord Jesus. God calls upon us to be like Him—pure, holy, and undefiled. We are to bear the divine image (Ye Shall Receive Power, p. 81).  

The Lord Jesus is our only helper. Through His grace we shall learn to cultivate love, to educate ourselves to speak kindly and tenderly. Through His grace our cold, harsh manners will be transformed. The law of kindness will be upon our lips, and those who are under the precious influences of the Holy Spirit, will not feel that it is an evidence of weakness to weep with those who weep, to rejoice with them that rejoice. We are to cultivate heavenly excellences of character. We are to learn what it means to have good-will toward all men, a sincere desire to be as sunshine and not as shadow in the lives of others (God’s Amazing Grace, p. 299).  

Seize every opportunity to contribute to the happiness of those around you, sharing with them your affection. Words of kindness, looks of sympathy, expressions of appreciation, would to many a struggling, lonely one be as a cup of cold water to a thirsty soul. . . (God’s Amazing Grace, p. 299).  

Live in the sunshine of the Saviour’s love. Then your influence will bless the world. Let the Spirit of Christ control you. Let the law of kindness be ever on your lips. Forbearance and unselfishness mark the words and actions of those who are born again, to live the new life in Christ (God’s Amazing Grace, p. 299). 

We may talk of the blessings of the Holy Spirit, and pray in regard to receiving them; but unless the human agent is worked by the Spirit of God, He reveals that he has Him not. When the Spirit molds and fashions the character after the divine similitude, He will be unmistakably revealed in every word we speak and in everything we do, showing to the world that there is a marked difference between the children of light and the children of darkness. The Lord wants us to stand stiffly for the faith once delivered to the saints. We are to speak the truth in love. Our great Teacher says, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:29, 30) (Ye Shall Receive Power, p. 81). 

Questions for Personal Reflection
1.  Are you characterized by kindness? How do you react when people are not kind to you? Would you like to be able to reflect God’s kindness? Ask God to teach you how to be kind. Claim His promises for you. 
2.  Make a list of things that you can do for others to show them kindness and ask God for opportunities to show His kindness, especially to those who seem to deserve it least. 

Day 5—Longsuffering

Luke 23:26-43  
But the fruit of the Spirit is . . . longsuffering.—Gal. 5:22
 Love is the law of Christ’s kingdom. The Lord calls upon every one to reach a high standard. The lives of His people are to reveal love, meekness, long-suffering. Long-suffering bears something, yea, many things, without seeking to be avenged by word or act. “Long-suffering” is patience with offence; long endurance. If you are long-suffering, you will not impart to others your supposed knowledge of your brother’s mistakes and errors. You will seek to help and save him, because he has been purchased with the blood of Christ. “Tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.” “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” To be long-suffering is not to be gloomy and sad, sour and hardhearted; it is to be exactly the opposite (My Life Today, p. 52).

 The love of Jesus needs to be brought to bear upon our lives. It will have a softening, subduing influence upon our hearts and characters. It will prompt us to forgive our brethren, even though they have done us injury. Divine love must flow from our hearts in gentle words and kindly actions to one another. The fruit of these good works will hang as rich clusters upon the vine of character. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance”(Review and Herald, Nov. 16, 1886, par. 10).  Try to live peaceably with all men, and let the atmosphere surrounding your soul be sweet and fragrant.

The Lord hears every unwise word that is spoken. If you will battle against selfish human nature, you will go forward steadily in the work of overcoming hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong. By patience, long-suffering, and forbearance you will accomplish much. Remember that you cannot be humiliated by the unwise speeches of someone else, but that when you answer unwisely, you lose a victory that you might have gained. Be very careful of your words.  Forbearance and unselfishness mark the words and deeds of those who are born again to live the new life in Christ (My Life Today, p. 52).  

 Questions for Personal Reflection
1.  Do you have the habit of taking revenge when someone does something wrong to you? How do you react when people treat you badly? Ask God to teach you to be longsuffering. Claim His promises.
 2.  Is there someone in your life that steps on your toes and does it purposefully? Ask God to give you patience, love, and forgiveness for that person and to help you show them His love.