Faith Filled Family Magazine November 2016 | Page 42

Not too well and failure is always
on the horizon. Thanking God for
Him being omnipotent in times
of trial needs to be first and foremost. Remember, when troubles come, the reaction to such
provides an indication of where
one’s at in relationship with God.

to face or overcome. There is no
indication incitements to commit
sin ever go away in this world.
No, this verse speaks of enduring, to fight and resist against sin.
If there is a charge to endure, this
indicates temptations will continue to come. When the believer endures, they fight through,
Trials and tribulations are a giv- much like an exhausted athlete
en. There is no doubt about this. will keep giving his all when he is
If one says otherwise, they are tired- he does not quit but fights
blind and live in a world of make to the end. Christians too must
believe. All people face bad fight, day in and day out, until
events in life. These events can the end of this earthly life. A conbe hiccups or traumatic events, stant battle rages in this world
in any given day, and anything in and Christians have targets on
between. Most of the time, peo- their back with evil aiming for
ple are the ones who get them- the bullseye to knock Christians
selves in a bind. They are not down with temptation and sin
good at managing money. They to drive a wedge between them
have wandering eyes. They are and Christ. God does not want
the predicator of actions leading believers to be beat down by the
to arguments, ill will towards oth- world but to receive salvation,
ers, etc. A common copout is to through Christ (1Th 5:9) through
blame Satan for troubles. Chris- His mercy and grace. Temptatians blame Satan for their short- tion may cause great ill to come
comings with substance abuse, upon man, yet God does not
infidelity, and anything else fail- want this. He wants all to come
ing in life and contrary to God to Him, freely, to accept Christ as
and His tea chings. Satan does savior and endure the world and
not deserve such a high standing its ills until the journey on this
for life going aloof for believers. earth is over a believers are with
Sure, and of course, Satan and Him in heaven and eternity.
his minions dangle temptation
like a carrot on a stick in front of Some Christians who face tribuChristians, but he doesn’t force lations are tempted to walk away
one to follow nor eat of the car- from God- they are labeled as
rot. It is the strength and internal fair-weather Christians. They
fortitude received from the Holy love Jesus and worship Him and
Spirit that enables believers to thank Him for blessings they reovercome temptation with vic- ceive but when troubles come,
tory.
when faced with adversity, these
people are more inclined to
James 1:12 (KJV): “Blessed is cease praise and thanksgiving
the man that endureth tempta- to God and walk away. Virtually
tion: for when he is tried, he shall turning their backs on God, the
receive the crown of life, which fair-weathered Christian cannot
the Lord hath promised to them understand trials and tribulations
that love him/.” This verse in no come to everyone and so they
way indicates temptation is easy turn back to the world believing

it can help them more than God.
This is troubling in itself.
Romans 12:12 (KJV) states “Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer.”
Hope, patience, and prayer.
These are some fundamental
pillars to rely on when facing adversity in this world. The fallen
world is filled with unbelievers
who hate Christians, and do their
best to marginalize those who
follow Christ. If the world can put
enough pressure on Christians
to move them to fall for temptation or turn from God through the
heartache of troubles, they have
won. Though Christ overcame
the world, souls still have to
make the choice of Christ or the
world, of salvation or damnation.
Patience is hard in this day and
age and affects hope. The society of the world includes instant
information, instant service, and
instant fill-in-the-blank. For most
people patience is waiting five
minutes or so until frustration
moves in because of the wait.
When the Bible speaks of patience, patience can be of any
length of time, whether a day,
year, or decade. This world operates in linear space, i.e., time.
God is not linear for He sees the
beginning and the end so when
patience is called for, whatever
is happening must be endured
until God intervenes with action
or guidance. Patience is not an
inherent trait but must be practiced and actively engaged with.
When patience is lacking, hope
dissipates rather quickly. The
opposite is true as well. When
patience is practiced, it feeds
hope and with more hope comes
more patience.