TRIALS & TEMPTATIONS

Are you going through hell? - if yes, then you have to thank God that is not your final destination. There's a good chance you are in a refinery, you will definitely come out of it.

God does not like it when any of His children is going through difficulties (trials). However, He sees it necessary for our upbringing and our growth, so He allows it.

1. THEN JESUS was led (guided) by the [Holy] Spirit into the wilderness (desert) to be tempted (tested and tried) by the devil.  Mat 4:1 (AMP)

2. Joseph was tried and tested when he was sold into slavery (thanks to the evil plot by his brothers) when according to his dream, he should have been ruling. He also ended up in prison for being faithful to God. (Gen. 47--)

3. Job was tested and tried by the devil at God's own permission (Job 1:8-12). (Here, some men of God preach that it was Job's fear that ended him in the situation in which he found himself. I however disagree. The passage from the bible makes it quite clear, what ensued between God and Satan- God had entered into a contest with Satan to prove His word, or testimony about Job)

It is something every true Christian will have to go through one way or the other, sometime in life. On our way to maturity, we need to pass through the wilderness of trials and temptation where God seems non-existent, and all you can do is to trust Him.

If you are going through this situation, you are probably wondering if:

• You are not being a fool, waiting for some God you have not even seen when you can easily use a different means to get what you want. Even if God exists, what is the probability that HE will show up in my situation?

•  God is not angry with you for something you may have done that you do not even know or remember

• God does not love others more than He loves you and whether He even cares about what you are going through

The 'God's Word' Translation puts James 1:2-4 in a very understandable and simple English:

My brothers and sisters, be very happy when you are tested in different ways.

You know that such testing of your faith produces endurance.

Endure until your testing is over. Then you will be mature and complete, and you won't need anything.  -  James 1:2-4 (God's Word)

These are some of the reasons why God wants us to be tested:

1. To train us unto maturity and completeness
2. To refine us - we come out better than we were
3. To prove our faith in God - To prove that we are not  following God just for material blessings, or we want to follow Him unconditionally.

During this time you are very much likely to shed tears because you will be squeezed and be stretched at the same time; you will be stretched to your elastic limits, you may experience the extremes of heat and cold at the same time . The devil will use your own family and the very people who are close to you to break you down. These people will test your faith and your faithfulness. Remember the friends of Job, oh and his wife. I wonder why the devil wiped out everything Job had, including his children and left his wife untouched. Have you ever wondered why? The devil used her as a weapon to tempt Job, turn him against God, and cause him to renounce God and commit suicide.

Then his wife said to him, Do you still hold fast your blameless uprightness? Renounce God and die! -  Job 2:9

 It is usually a period of embarrassment and loneliness , when you want to hide your face from everyone else and be alone. At this point, everyone seems to have a solution to your problems and the more they try to help you, the harder they hurt you  and the more you want to stay away from them.

Many Christians who have found themselves in this situation in one way or the other have found themselves either thinking of committing suicide or attempting to do so. Suicide is the devil's checkmate for your soul; it's the easiest way for him to get a Christian to go to hell.

Please note this: nobody who commits suicide has a place in heaven.

• It is murder
• You make nonsense of the value of the life God has given you
• You imply that God is incapable of helping you out of your situation

Every trial comes with a temptation. Satan's plan is to pressurize and stretch you so much that you will say "alright! Enough is enough" and then accept his options for you. This is where he wins the battle. There is no Manager (Coach) in sports who  knows how to play mind games than the devil.

Joseph was tempted to sleep with his master's wife; Job was tempted to renounce God; Jesus was tempted to fall for pride and arrogance, and also tempted to abort his mission and accept the whole world on a silver platter - just by worshiping the devil. Job and Joseph could have said, "after all, all die be die" and then give up on God. The Good news is that they never did and we have the opportunity to learn from them and to know that victory awaits us. NEVER GIVE UP ON GOD!

Your trial is an indication that God has chosen you; to write another chapter of testimony with your life. It means God sees you trustworthy enough to go through whatever it is you are going through and not let Him down. He sees you as a warrior in His Kingdom that will bring glory to Him. Like Job, God is comfortable enough to let you at the hands of the devil and stay out of the contest and watch you defeat him, and when you are finally through, He'd say with so much delight on His face; that's my child and then turn to the rest of heaven and announce: We have another victory here with so and so, then He'll mention your name; the whole of heaven will rejoice over your victory as if the football team of heaven has just won a world cup.

God has already defeated the devil. It is our turn to do same. Why? Because we are his children - His seed. It is only natural for us to take part in the contest and win. The devil is no match for God; God leaves him to us to contest and contend with him (using our faith and putting our trust in God) and come out victors. Our victory is assured if we can follow the rules of the contest. If we can obey God and not divert from the path, the contest becomes just a formality. The whole of heaven is witnessing this contest;

THEREFORE THEN, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who have borne testimony to the Truth],... and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us.  Hebrews 12:1 (AMP)

 It is not just between us and the devil. We are representing heaven just as any sportsman represents his country. If he/she loses, the entire nation loses and they get disappointed.

Just as every sportsman has some kind of a reward or trophy after winning any contest, God also has a reward package that will surprise you. You will then lift up your head like Job and Joseph and say: Thank you Lord! For what I've been through.

NEVER GIVE UP ON GOD!