Joy During Trials by Deborah Horack

When we suffer on this earth & we are being tested
which direction does your faith turn? When you have
burdens to carry who do you ask to share them with
you? Most of us know the story of Job & the suffering
he went through. The book of Job starts off by saying
in 1:1-3, that he was blameless & upright. Job had 10
children, thousands of sheep, camels,&
donkeys.

He also had a large number of servants. In

the blink of an eye
Job had lost everything that mattered to him. A
messenger came & told him his children were dead.
Three more came & explained that how his servants &
animals were gone. At that moment Job tore off his rob
& shaved his head & fell to the ground to worship. He
said in verse 1"21 "Naked I came from my mothers womb
& naked will I depart, the Lord gave & the Lord has
taken away, may the name of the Lord be praised"

After reading this verse time & time again I sit in
amazement at his faith. How does one human man gather
up that much faith in our God. How does Job get passed
his grief & in seconds start praising. Job did go
through a grieving process but he also accepted the
will of God in his life. Job told his wife in verse
2:10,"shall we accept good from God & not trouble."
When trials come through in my own life I can say
honestly that I don't fall on my knee's & say thank
you. I usually find myself running to my husband or my
friends looking for answers or solutions. But over the
years I have come to realize that I need to go to only
one source & that is God. In Him I find my strength
that is often buried deep inside me. In Him I can say
I have smiled & found joy during a trial. Learning how
to live with joy in my heart when my circumstances are
beyond my control develops my faith. Even in the midst
of a trial I have to hold on to my trust in God. I
have to stay focused on Gods love & faithfulness. I
may be scared and hurting but I want to show God I
will trust Him. I want Him to know my view of Him is
never small.

I think of the verse in James
1:2-4,"Consider it pure joy my brothers whenever you
face trials of many kinds, because you know that the
testing of your faith develops perseverance."  We all
know trials are not joyous, but we can take comfort in
knowing that precious lessons come from difficult
times. I read in a commentary in my bible "We can find
joy in our trials when we realize they are schools for
our souls." I have noticed that with each trial I have
gone through I always come out stronger & my
relationship with God goes to a higher level. If we
take these trials in our life & think back on them I
am sure you will see your own growth. We will be a
witness to our self when we see our own faith come
alive & active. And when that trial is over then God
will use you to touch someone's life. They will see
how God worked in your life even at your darkest hour.
Any thing that happened in my life that was a test I
want to use it to help someone. I want to show God
that whatever my trial was or is I will always try to
use it for His glory. I will let nothing be wasteful
in my life that God has used to build my faith. I want
to sing His praises with joy in my heart no matter
what is going on around me.

In Romans 15:13, it says
"When you trust God you will be filled with joy, peace
& hope." If you are in the midst of a trial today,
live with joy in your heart, have joy in your actions
& in your attitudes. Then be still and watch God work.