DEVOTION
A Reason to Rejoice
By Tony Evans
CBN.com
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"We also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation
brings about perseverance." --Romans 5:3
Read It: James 1:2-4
If you're not in the middle of a trial right now, just hang
around. None of us can dodge trials. So we need to find out the resources
God has given us to deal with trials.
What is a trial, anyway? It's an adverse circumstance that
God allows or even brings about in the lives of us His children to deepen
our faith. We'll see this week that trials are not designed to sink our boat,
but to help us improve our navigation skills. In the words of the Apostles
Paul and James, we can actually rejoice when we undergo trials, because we
know God is doing something special in our lives.
Now trials can come from a number of directions. Sometimes
God sends you a trial to teach you a specific lesson. At other times, it comes
simply because you live in a sin-cursed world, and the curse rubs off on you.
So you become the victim of a crime or accident or illness that crashes into
your life.
Sometimes trials are the result of your own sin. You yield
to a temptation that leads to a set of circumstances that are tough to deal
with. And don't forget that the enemy can attack you with trials for the purpose
of bringing about your spiritual defeat.
So my concern is not so much the source of your trials,
but what you do when they show up. How you respond to cataclysmic circumstances
has a lot to do with what shape you're in when you come out on the other side.
The good news is, you're not out there alone, because no matter what the source
of your trial is, God has the situation well in hand. He can work out His
purposes even in a trial you may bring on yourself.
One great way to learn how to deal with trials is to watch
others in the middle of one. So starting tomorrow, we'll get into a boat with
the disciples and row out to the middle of the Sea of Galilee. Stay with me,
and you'll learn that even when your boat starts to rock, Jesus Christ has
authority over your trials.
Think About It
You're either in the middle of a trial, just coming out
of one, or just heading into one. Better be ready!
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Are you facing a difficult situation?
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