Outback Christians - Troubles, trials and testings.

Troubles, trials and testings - consider the joy?

We all have our troubles and many of us are going through terrible trials right now. No-one I know likes going through tough times, least of all me. How many of us put hand up and ask for trials in our life? Of course none of us because we all know that life on earth brings its constant share of these things our way often enough without us having to seek them out.
Sometimes i even wonder if maybe it's the other way around and that troubles seek me out. There are days when I feel like they are deliberately put in my way on purpose.

Trials and troubles are interesting things. No-one wants them, many of us go to great lenghts to avoid them and when they come we all run for cover. Whilst we are in the midst of them we groan, we suffer and often complain. I know I do! I like the Israelites of Moses' time make a good "whiner'. I must sound like my own kids in the ears of the Lord. Why me? It's not fair! Who's to blame! Sometimes I even go 'demon hunting' thinking that every woe must come from the 'enemy of the saints'. Whilst some troubles may come from this source many are just the result of living in a fallen, sin-filled world and sad to say the rest are probably of my own making.

Whilst we may not always know why they come we can be certain of the response we as christians should have, and no it is not whining or complaining or even trying to 'walk around or away from them.

I remember a Pastor once sharing this thought. God did not promise to remove trouble from our lives or to even remove us from all of our troubles. He did promise however to walk through them with us. When Jesus was on earth he did not avoid pain, persecution, troubles or testing. He victoriously walked through them and He praised God through it all.

That thought does not sit too well in the West does it. We try to invent ways to avoid pain. We have painkillers, anti-depressants and even assisted suicide so that we wont suffer. Not that I am against taking some pain relief but I am a little suspicious of a culture that can't deal with pain. We even try to drug people when they are going through natural grief because we can't handle that emotion.

Like it or not though the Apostles and Epistle writers tell us to face our trials and troubles with an attitude that lacks bitterness, denial and whining.
The book of James deals intensly with this topic. He is writing to Jewish believers who have been scattered from Jerusalem. These people are undergoing immense persecution and trials. Does James prescibe pain-killers, does he advocate casting out of 'demons of trouble'? Does James pat them on the shoulder and say 'oh I am so sorry? No he tells ua the opposite of what our culture believes. James has the audacity to tell us to "Count it all joy! chapter 1 verse 2

"What? I should be joyful because of trouble? No-way, trials suck - don't they?"

Well according to James trials should bring us joy because of the fruit that comes from going through them. He isn't saying trouble is joyous, he is saying rejoice because this trial will make you strong, build up your faith and bring maturity to your life. (I think James wants us to view trials as our testing ground.)

I remember a time when God lead me to shift campus within the Bible college I was attending. I felt him say that my time with him at the new capus would bring me a closer walk with him. I went with the expectation of a very 'spiritual time' . A time of peace and contemplation of the Lord. Did I get it? It was one of the worst experiences of my life. I was accused of some things that I simply did not do - more than once. A person who presented themself as a friend was in secret jealous of me and caused no end of strife. I felt betrayed, abused, misunderstood and falsely accused. I was penalized, disciplined and the house I was renting was taken from my friends and I under false premises. Was I joyful? No I was so belwildered at the time, I couldn't understand how all of this could bring me a 'close walk with Jesus'.

Looking back now however I understand. That time in my life I would not be without. I grew up, matured as a believer. My faith grew stronger not weaker as I learned to lean on Jesus in a whole new way. I learned a little of what it means to suffer for righteousness sake. Jesus was falsely accused, misunderstood and betrayed by the religous majority of His day.

Yes I walked closer and now I do consider it Joy to have had these trials in my life.

So how do I fair today when trials and troubles come. I would love to say that I don't whinge at all, but I can't. However I can say after the intial grumps I can move more quickly into the praise of God and now I look for joy in the midst of the pain.

I don't praise God because of the trials, I praise Him inspite of them. God is still good even if times are tough. God is still faithfull when others let me down. God still heals when others hurt me. There is always a reason to praise Him!

Yes I hurt, if someone betrays me, yes I cry when the pain becomes intense, but I know that I have God to help me through. I know I can trust him and that out of this 'firey furnace" out of this time of testing God will produce a 'diamond' in my life.

No we don't think pain is good, we don't go looking for trials and we don't deliberately cause them to come but when they do come we can rejoice because the one who has overcome will walk with us.