make decisions with them....I have found that the more feelings you have about something, the harder it is to do the right thing. You start making decisions because of your feelings and then the trial and problems get worse!
There are many reasons we go through trials, but I think we can look at a couple that are an umbrella of most of them.
1. Refine us and purify us....get us to grow! (Children of Israel- Exodus 13-17 )
If we are being purified and God is trying to pull things out of us that don't belong...it is very uncomfortable! The last thing we should do is complain and mummer. God doesn't like it, it shows our unbelief that God is not in control. Also, we need to be careful not to complain against our head ship. They have a hard job and a lot of times the are dealing with very stubborn people. The only 2 people that survived the Exodus was Joshua and Caleb...all the people died in their problem! They never made it to the promise land.....God promises things for us but we can stop the blessing by complaining and not believing the report of the lord. Complaining also is a form of disobedience.
Joshua 5:6 (NKJV)
For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people who were men of war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they did not obey the voice of the LORD—to whom the LORD swore that He would not show them the land which the LORD had sworn to their fathers that He would give us, “a land flowing with milk and honey.”
2. Disobedience (Jonah 1:12)
God desires to use us, not for just the people we like but also the one we don;t get along with. When God tells us to do something and we don't....storms will come to get you in the place God told you to go in the first place. When we are in the storm it will affect the people around us....they also will be in the storm! When we finally surrender and do what God tells us; we need to be careful not to get bitter and mad at Gods mercy! Because our feeling can lead us astray!
Jonah 4:4 (NKJV)
Then the LORD said, “Is it right for you to be angry?”
3.For the Glory of God and a to be a testimony for others-an example for them. (Job 1:8; 2:3)
Satan comes to attack our character...he accuses us and then comes to test us. Everyone sees what happens....a lot of time they will try and blame it on some sin you have committed or a door you have opened to the demonic. During these times we need to be sure we don't curse God. This is what Jobs wife said during his trial....curse God and die! This is exactly what the enemy wants! We need to be in love with Christ and be close to Him to endure such stress. the people you serve God with in the church (your brethren) and the your family will try and figure out what is going on they will give reasoning's and opinions that can cause you to stumble. Be very cautious not to let your heart grow weary in this season that can last a long time. You may have to endure the worse things you have ever experienced but God will be with you. Do not yield to what others say and think. If you have opened doors to the demonic or if you have sinned against God....God will not hide that from you, His desire is that all come to repentance. You don't have to worry about not knowing if you have or haven't deserved this. Jonah knew that he was disobedient, he knew the storm was his fault. Don't complain....like the children of Israel. Keep your heart right with your headship. This is a time that you will be tried by fire...it is the will of God.
Job 1:8-12 (NKJV)
Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?”
9 So Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!”
12 And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.”
So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.
I encourage you to get closer to God and more intimate with God now....don't wait for the trial!
Matthew 7:24-27 (The Message)
24-25"These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.
26-27"But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don't work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards."
24-25"These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.
26-27"But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don't work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards."
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