Trials will they make you or break you
Prosperity is defined as the condition of being successful or thriving that is synonymous with abundance, expansion, accomplishments, victory success, and many others.
Success cannot be served on a golden platter, it is not an accident but a product of deliberate effort and hard work. And when a person is striving for success it is accompanied by challenges one must face to achieve it. Success is not accomplished without obstacles.
Many people have shown ways to accomplish this feat of facing hindrances head-on and becoming successful, they faced significant challenges and reached unparalleled success. The limitations they experienced became a stepping stone for them to reach new heights that will be impossible if they cower in front of those obstacles
To mention a few there is
Franklin Roosevelt - He was diagnosed with polio but because of his heart to serve his fellowmen, though hindered by this disease, became one of the presidents of the United States.
Hellen Keller - was deaf and blind when she was 18 months old. This did not stop her passion to learn and becoming an Alumna of Radcliffe College and becoming the 1st deaf and blind person who earned the Bachelor of Arts degree
Benjamin Franklin- Because of poverty he was forced to stop his studies at the age of 10 and it also stopped His chance to learn in an Educational Institution. But even though he experienced this he rose from this situation and went on to be an Elder in the American Revolution, became a designer of the Declaration of American Independence and its Constitution, Invented things as a scientist, and many more.
These examples show that hindrances and obstacles are not there to weaken the resolve of a person to achieve success in life. They experience many challenges in their life but those challenges did not stop them because they understood that they are experiencing that thing for them to learn how to strive more.
In the Christian life the words use for these situations are trials. Some may be asking why does God allow Christians to experience trials, whether is it Important? and where will it lead us?
I would like us to talk about the importance of trials in a believer's life. And for us to study this truth further we will look at the life of Joseph, one of Israel's sons.
Why you may ask?
Because the life of Joseph is one of the most colorful in the Bible perhaps it is motor colorful than the multicolored coat given to him by Jacob.
Joseph was sold for 30 pieces of silver to the Midianites trader by his brothers. And he was brought to Egypt and was bought by Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials to be his slave. But it did not end there because He was also imprisoned for 17 long years for a crime he did not commit.
The experiences Joseph went through were not ordinary trials and struggles of life, He was betrayed, and falsely accused which resulted in his incarceration for a long time, these are complex trials. And he has no one to help him because He was a slave in a foreign land no one was there for him.
Why did God let this happen to Joseph, is it for His enjoyment because He was bored? , Is it because He is aaa sadistic God that wants to see those who believe in Him suffer?
Remember this friends, God is a rational God. He moves with a purpose and reason. But those reasons are not to show that he is a cruel God but to prove that he is a God that designs and plans for what is best for us. Because he is a God that cares for us and loves us.
What is the importance of trials in Having a Successful Christian life?
A. Trials will lead us to complete trust in God
- During trials people tend to ask "Is there a God?" or "Is He sleeping that's why he can't see my sufferings?" But let us understand that the trials we experience do not disapprove the truth that there is a God. But instead, It illuminates this truth because we are led to trust Him more.
If we look at the scriptures in
Genesis 39:1-2
" Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and l Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, m had bought him from the n Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. 2 o The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master."
Genesis 39:21
"But a the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love band gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison."
These verses are strong proof that during the times of trials, God was with Joseph
The promised presence of God will only bare true when we are in the test of our faith yet we choose to trust Him rather than doubt Him.
Heb. 11:6
"And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God m must believe that he exists and m that he rewards those who seek him."
God's favor will always be complete to those who put their trust in God.
When Joseph was there in Egypt God did not leave him. When he was in prison God did not abandon him. In the lowest and darkest point of Joseph's life, God was there. Because faith in Joseph gives him the certainty of God's presence with him.
We are maybe experiencing plenty of trials but through faith, we believe that after these will be a solid and unbreakable trust in God
B. Trials will mold us into the character God wants us to be.
-God allows situations to pass our way not to make us a monster envelope with hatred. But to be a servant of God whose heart is softened by his molding
It is a trial that can discover the depth of one's character. Just like what Heller Keller experienced when she became blind and deaf from an early age. This could have been a reason for her to be stubborn and full of hatred and self-pity b it on the contrary it gave her the reason to find life according to her " The greatest catastrophe in one's life is to have eyes but could not see" she does not have eyes but know the color of the World.
In Joseph's life, he went through trials but even though this is true he did not become bitter but better.
People can say anything about their values or themselves. But when the pressure is on they discover what their values are. When Joseph underwent those trials he became a better person.
Gen. 50:15-17
"15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” 16 So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: 17 ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to"
His brothers made something out of deception by telling a lie to Joseph, but when Joseph heard this he wept. Not because of anger or lacking a chance to have his revenge against his brothers
Genesis. 50:20
"20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but i God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people2 should be kept alive, as they are today."
He wept because He knew that what He experienced was allowed by God for us to be better and be molded according to what God wanted for us. It's not a monster that is being built to use but a saint being molded in us.
If you are blessed by God there will be no space for hatred in your heart. He who succeeds in every trial of life will find love, forgiveness, and 2nd chances
Joseph was not enslaved by bittern but is a person molded with God's divine nature the molding of God etched in Him divine nature to be a channel of strength to those who are weak, a source of faith to those who doubt a mouthpiece of God's word to those who are hopeless, a living message to those who don't believe.
Yes, when we are molded by the trials of life. We can see our Christian life as a successful one because from being a self-centered person we can be a God-centered one
C. Trials will give us the right perspective in life.
Genesis 45:5
"And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, sfor God sent me before you to preserve life."
one of the reasons why Joseph succeed in facing the trials of life was because He possessed the right perspective. He was indeed sold for 30 pieces of silver by his brothers, was brought to a foreign land to be enslaved, and was put into prison without a fair trial. But when he met his brothers again he told them"you were not the one who sent me here, it is God" Joseph knew that all the things he experienced behind it all God has a plan. It was not about what He felt but about the plan of God in his life that he understood took place in his life. A declaration of a servant following his master's plan.
What benefit will we get if we succeed in our Christian life?
John 2:17
"17 His disciples remembered that it was written, x “Zeal for your house will consume me.”"
- medals, trophies accolades, citations, and being a hall of famed and proving you are the best is fulfilling but it will never last all will fade and will come to pass. And on the day of reckoning when we face the Lord it will not be about the earthly glories that we have. What matters to God is our faith and it is His will that we succeed in our life of service to Him.
Lk. 18:8
8 I tell you, he will give justice to them a speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, but will he find faith on earth?”
In Christ's second, coming one thing he will seek is faith. We can accomplish many things in this world. We can prosper and expand our portfolio. We can have the best of this world but don't forget that there will be a day of reckoning when God will seek from us a faith fought with a good fight
God wants us to succeed In our Christian life but there is no shortcut we must follow the process and experience the trials . It is a great comfort for us the promise stated by God that He will never leave nor forsake us.
This has been Bible Reflection. Will you let trials make you or break you?