Have you been through trials? Have you suffered through hard times? How did you get through them? Did you learn anything from those trials or hard times? Did you take what you learned and apply it to your life? What did you do when the trials were over?
We face a variety of trials during our lives. Some of them we can quickly point to our own decisions as the cause. Others seem to come out of nowhere, blindsiding us. We may never know where they came from or why they singled us out. Such is life.
Yet, we can learn from each trial we go through. It is up to us to choose how we weather them. We can try to gut it out, overcome them on our own, and get through them by sheer determination. Or we can turn to God, asking him to intervene, or ask him for strength and wisdom to get through them. It is our choice.
As we go through those trials, we can also seek to learn from them. There is always a lesson, even if it is nothing more than we need to lean on God. But most often, God will teach us something through the trial. Perhaps it is to make wiser choices. It may be that we need to learn to listen to people who are older, wiser, and have a wide range of experiences. We may learn that we need to go to God in prayer before making decisions and seek the peace that goes beyond understanding. Then we need to apply those lessons throughout our lives.
Jesus went through trials when He was in the wilderness for forty days. His faith was tested. He leaned on the Father to get Him through it. Afterward, He was strengthened for the ministry He came to complete. He began by going into the synagogues and teaching. As He spread the good news, everyone was amazed. We should emulate Him.
I pray we all lean on God as we go through trials. I pray we seek to learn the lessons God is teaching us. I pray we apply those lessons in our lives and help others with what we learned. Lean on God. Learn the lessons he is teaching you. Apply those lessons in your life.
Luke 4:14-15 Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.
Marty Pressey 