Wind has a different impact on a candle flame than a wildfire. For the candle flame, wind will extinguish the fire, and it doesn’t take much. Anyone who has watched a child blow out the candles on their birthday cake knows this. For the wildfire, wind has the opposite effect. It feeds the fire instead of putting it out. If the candle flame could speak, it would tell the wind to leave it alone. If the wildfire could speak, it would welcome the wind. One is threatened, while the other is fed.
Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials.
—James 1:2
Trials are not inherently good. Anyone who has been persecuted for their faith or watched a family member battle cancer or suffered a miscarriage or any number of painful things we face in a sin-sick world knows that trials are signs that things are not the way they should be. Here, James was not minimizing the pain of trials. He was not saying, “get over it because trials aren’t that big of a deal.” James knew the words of his brother Jesus who said, “blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4).
James was defining the relationship between our trials and our faith. As followers of Jesus, we believe that our future is resurrection life in a renewed heaven and earth where we will enjoy uninterrupted fellowship with our beautiful God. That is the substance of our faith. Jesus has secured that future for us through His own death and resurrection. Because that is the substance of our faith, it is more wildfire than it is candle flame. Trials do not extinguish our faith; trials make our faith stronger. James named the process as endurance that leads to lacking nothing, maturity.
I have heard many Christians speak this way. I have never once heard someone describe an easy, comfortable, got-everything-I-wanted season of life and conclude, “it made me who I am today.” However, I have heard so many faithful Christians describe seasons of loss, pain, suffering, and various trials and conclude, “I know Jesus and am like Jesus in ways that would not have happened without the trials.” That is their genuine faith speaking and saying, “I welcome the wind.”
Faithful in trial is the way Jesus secured our salvation. Therefore, faithful in trial is the way Jesus will strengthen our faith and form our Christlike character.
Written by Jamin Roller
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193 thoughts on "Trials and Maturity"
Praying for you all today!!
If I had not gone through the trials I went through I would have never given up and found my salvation and handed everything over to him. My soul was slowly dying and I finally said it’s all yours God I can’t do this by myself anymore. My whole self has done a 180. Praises Jesus he saved my soul.
Faith after losing a loved one is challenging at best. I pray that my faith grows like a wildfire, Lord. Amen.
May I have wildfire faith, Lord!
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Oh how I want to welcome the wildfires in life with steadfast faith. ❤️
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I absolutely love this fire and wind analogy!! The Lord is so so faithful even in the midst of the storms. I can’t wait to get to heaven and hear all of the big things He was refining in me through their process.
My trial was endometrial cancer in September of 23. I was blessed that it was caught at stage 1 and was taken care of with surgery. So far I am 2 years in remission and I have faith God will keep me cancer free.
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Faithful in trial is how God assured my salvation. May I be faithful in all my trials.
I pray that even the small trials will teach me something Lord! Please guide me through your Holy Spirit to go with the wind through big or small.
What happens if I have t experienced that big of a trial? Am I not a real Christian? Heavenly Father, fill me with your spirit. Make me fully Yours. Grant me Your fruit of the Spirit and continue to walk with me always. In Yeshua’s name, amen.
What you may have experienced could have still been an important trial or trials. Even if it was different from other, your walk and journey is yours and that is what makes it so special and impactful for people you are meant to meet. Sometimes our everyday battles would seem like deep trials to others.
Endurance leads to lacking nothing – maturity!
What a great reminder of what Christ endured here on Earth. He gives us the same strength to endure through the Holy Spirit and His Word. May we allow the trials in our life to fuel our faith and make it stronger.
Amen!
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I am learning to have faith through my trials. I have struggled with depression the past few weeks and my pastor has been doing a series about having faith in the storms. Much needed and has really brought me out of my slump for sure. God is so so so good!
Amen!
Isaiah 43:2-3 God says when we go through trials we won’t be overtaken by them and, He will be with us.
What a great reminder!
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Wow. This was such a new perspective for me to think about trials. Candle flame vs. wind to a wild fire vs. wind. Whereas I always know in the end that the trial made me stronger or something positive came from something terrible* this analogy is really visual.
Faithful in trials……yes, Lord….
God I don’t like trials but I understand you use them for my good so in the end, I always win. Thank you.
Having faith IN the trials- help us have peace when we’re at a point to look BACK on the trials. Those trials don’t live with us forever. They don’t become our everything.
Shew, that’s good stuff!
Love this truth as it pertains to trials. It’s exactly what I needed to hear today. It truly changed my perspective. I am welcoming the trials I am going through and excited to see how God works through me in this!
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Amen. Give me strength Lord. Amen
I welcome the wind
“I welcome the wind”. Amen❤️
Praising God in the storm. Though hard I will always praise God in my storms.
Lord, may my faith be like a wildfire, strengthened by the wind. I have walked through a very difficult trial for the past 18 months and genuinely, I am better for it. While the things that have happened truly are – as the devotional said – evidence that things are not as they should be in a sin-sick world, walking through them has given me a choice – either cling to God and know him more or turn away. I know Jesus more intimately, I know the Bible better, and I see my complete lack of control and need for a savior more clearly. Praise be to God and only by his mercy, I’m starting to tentatively see the light at the end of this trial, but I haven’t forgotten the lessons and spiritual disciplines I learned along the way.
Thank you for your testimony. It is an encouragement to me.
Prayers that this trial truly is resolving soon for you.
Thank you, B! I continue to pray for you and all you are walking through.
Thank you❤️
Praying alongside you, Lauren that you keep stepping out in faith and that you will see the fruits and rewards of this choice and decision you have made..
God bless you.❤️
Sweet Tina, thank you so much for your encouragement and prayers ❤️
Good morning, sweet sister! How did your scan go yesterday? Praying! ❤️
Good morning and thank you so much, Lynne ❤️ My scan went so well! Baby is wiggling and growing and looks perfect. Praise be to God, we are so grateful!
Trials grow us in ways we never imagined. During the trial we want the pain and fatigue or waiting to end….but then in hindsight we see the changes and good thinfs we gained because of the trials!
I have certainly been through some trials. I know times get hard, but you just have to be rooted in Christ. Overcoming those trials is what strengthens our faith and builds our testimony. We can use our trials and how God has helped us through them, and share our story with others.
Amen.❤️
Don’t lose your faith in God even when times get hard because they will get hard. God tests our faith just like He did with Isaac’s son. Have your faith rooted and grounded in Christ✝️❤️
Absolutely love the illustration of the wind with the candle and the wildfire! Makes me thinks of trials differently.
I certainly have experienced some trials, especially in the past decade. When I was diagnosed with cancer is one of them. I am so grateful for the time I had to be off work after multiple surgeries because I had the opportunity to spend so much time with the Lord and learn so much about Him and His story, and where I fit in to all of it. Like someone else said, I don’t know that I would want to go through that again, but I have found that was a time that I grew so close to the Lord.
Amen Tricia. hugs❤️
Oops lots of typos. * I am definitely not on a place where I welcome trials in my life. I think I would say that I actively avoid them.
I am definitely not a place where I welcome trials on my life. I think o would say I actively avoid them. I can definitely see the trials in my life and the good that God brought from them. I pray that I wouldn’t be scared of them, but trust that God is with me and is bigger than any trial.
When I was growing up, the church is was raised in had an opinion that trials were an indication of punishment for sin in the life of a Christian. And when working as a chaplain in hospitals and in hospice, I had many patients ask what they had done that was so bad that God had sent “this” to them. I dont believe Jesus taught this, and I don’t think this is what James was saying. Jesus told us we would have trials in this life. And James tells us these trials will strengthen us. We live in a fallen world. And the result of sin on the earth is death. Yes, because we live in a sinful world, sickness and death comes. Hard times come. But Jesus reminds us that HE has overcome the world. Trials really do strengthen us. I’ve gone through some very difficult times in my life. And although I would not choose to go through them again, I can honestly say that each time, God was there. Comforting. Guiding. Providing peace when I thought there was none. And each time, I became stronger as a person, and as a Believer. God is good. He doesn’t send bad things to His children. But when the results of living in this world bring bad things to us, He can, and does, use them to strengthen us and our faith in Him.
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Hugs Teresa.❤️
@HEIDI- i just went back and checked the comments and saw your share on Jen Wilkin’s James Study free workbook (free download) on her website. What an incredible info. I wrote a thank you to you but just in case, thank you so much Heidi, you are so resourceful! I went to Jen Wilkin’s website, under Resources, and the James Study is right there (need name, email to download if anyone else might be interested to explore). Also, a great thank you to Jen Wilkin for your hard work and the great materials you have devoted to study and give away for free.
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Winds – the tempest of the trials, I love that image. Winds are very necessary for strengthening seedlings and young plants in the gardening world. I will be bringing my tender tomato plants outdoor to get them hardened off to real weather conditions, one of which indoor condition doesn’t provide is WIND. I like to think that’s how God hardens us off preparing us for the real world out there, enduring trials and persecutions. I care for my plants, I am not trying to destroy them by exposing them to wind (they might think so?), I nurse them, I watch weather condition, for I want them to grow and bear fruits (hopefully as abundant as last year lol) so I can share with others. Trials are there to build us, especially the root system, so that we are strong and can bear good fruits (of faith, endurance, long suffering, self control, fruit of the Spirit). I am also very glad to see Job in today’s reading, because just the name alone has already reminded me of his faithfulness going through unimaginable trials till the end…. to receive double reward. My wonderful Bible teacher Andrew Wommack (Charis Bible College) used to caution this, he said the amount of trials are not correlated with the maturity of a Christian. In other words, not everyone who has been tried are mature, some have turned so bitter hating God departing from the faith. They refuse the trials to work their purpose. Remember Job’s wife, who encourages him to curse God during trials. Also remember Lot’s wife, who turns back during trials revealing her heart longings and becomes a pillar of salt. Different tragic outcomes of trials are shown in these stories. God is the only way, the only truth, and the life, the compass to the true north when we can’t see the way. Cling on tight to the Promises that we treasure in our heart and mind and soul. When patience is worked until its fulness, we want nothing else, we lack no good things, leaving no room for temptations. If that is the definition of maturity, being full and content in GOD alone, fully understand that HE is our cup and portion, that would be my goal to reach on this weary pilgrimage journey on earth. Lifting you up in prayers she. Seek first the Kingdom of God, and everything else would be given, not the other way around. Another beautiful warm day for us that feels like spring, I will be out in the sun praising God. Be blessed dear sisters.
Hugs Mercy and thank you❤️
So so good. So much to chew on! Excited to listen to this week’s podcast episode as well. The community in this thread is palpable!
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Trials are not what we like to go through but if we hold fast to our Father, pray, cry out to Him, He will meet us where we are and sit with us like the loving Father He is. The reward is that we get stronger, trust Him more, and we have a story to share with others!
He is faithful and good.
Praying for all!
Amen ❤️
JAMIN ROLLER, thank you for this devo written with such compassion, wisdom, and encouragement! ❤
“Faithful in trial is the way Jesus secured our salvation. Therefore, faithful in trial is the way Jesus will strengthen our faith and form our Christlike character.”
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Maria B…. Praying for your husband right now.
“Trails do not extinguish our faith; trails make our faith stronger.” I can attest to this as many of us here certainly can and have. Those trails, hard times, heartaches, the scary unknown, gave me the opportunity to TRUST my JESUS because I knew He would come through for me! I just knew it! It wasn’t easy, (nothing ever is), BUT GOD…He is faithful. Love the last sentence too, sweet Tina. “Faithful in trial is the way Jesus secured our salvation. Therefore, faithful in trail is the way Jesus will strengthen our faith and for our Christlike character.” – Jamin Roller. Our God will always be good no matter what, even when it’s hard.
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Nothing but great truth in today’s reading! Ty!
Maria B- praying with you.
I needed to hear this today as I am in the fire right now with some health issues.
Praying for you Andrea
I’m praying over you right now Andrea.
Praying no weapons of sickness can prosper over you Andrea.
Praying now for you, Andrea. ❤️
Lifting you up Andrea..
God is good..❤️
Including you in my prayers today, Megan. God will bless and grow you during this trial!
I thank God for the trials we endure.
Good morning She’s. Welcome to so many new names. The podcast is a great additional resource and always so good. For those of us that appreciate Jen Wilkin, she will bo on in a couple weeks. :)
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This life we live is not without hardship, sorrow, struggle and trial. Quite likely, if we’re not walking in the thick of it at the moment, we are on the other side of it, or unfortunately, its coming. In my own life, I’m not quite there yet to say I’m grateful for the trial or can “welcome the wind” as the author said today or as many others can. But, I can say, I very clearly see and know that God’s faithfulness and presence is very clear and know. As I lean on Him, seek Him and cry out, without question I can see His hand. And, its that calling on Him that further deepens and strengths my faith. I remind my self often that we should not wish away the things that keep us on our knees before the Lord. Anything that brings us to cry out, seek Him, look to Him, further our longing and desire to know Him and be in His presence is indeed good. This thought from the devotional stands out. Find me faithful, Lord and make me like you.❤️
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“….faithful in trial is the way Jesus will strengthen our faith and form our Christlike character.”
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Living in Colorado for the past 20 years I have a big dislike for the winds. They can be brutal.
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BUT after reading Jamin’s devotional, I welcome them. I have endured them. And will continue to do so.
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It is true that the trials I have been through have been the strengthening factor in my faith. Without them I believe I would be very complacent in my faith. Instead it has been what has held me up.
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Faithful in trial is the way Jesus secured our salvation. Therefore, faithful in trial is the way Jesus will strengthen our faith and form our Christlike character.
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That is a convicting devotional today. I never ask for the wind, but indeed it makes my faith grow.
Sisters, a quick prayer request— today my husband goes for a PET scan to check if his cancer has spread from the prostate. I am praying it has not. And know I am always so grateful for your prayers and encouragement.
i will pray
Say a prayer right now Maria. Praying for clear scans and for comfort and peace over you as you wait.
Done!
Praying the results are accurate and that the pictures clearly show that there is no spreading of that cancer! Praying for peace in the waitjng for resukts! ❤
Praying Maria!
Lord Jesus we pray against any cancer spread and pray for life and healing over Maria’s husband. May results come quickly and favorably. Crazy enough my stepdad had prostate cancer last spring. it was his one and only treatment.
Praying
Praying for your husband, Maria!
Praying right now.
Maria, I’m praying your husband’s cancer has not spread. And praying for God’s healing hand upon him. I pray you both feel His comfort and peace.
Prayerful all went well yesterday at the PET scan❤️
“I welcome the wind.” This is going on the sticky notes I have on my desk as quick daily reminders. I love how it looks at trials from the point of view of ‘faith being fed.’
GM my friends!
I love today’s verse, and it is one of my memories verses. The more people you are around, the more trials you hear. Well, really, anyway you look these days! Were there any days free and easy going? Life was happy and fun? Yes! When I look back, yes…I felt like I had an easy, optimistic view of life. And now, I see there were many trials for myself and all around me- but somehow they were just part of life. Does that make sense? These days though, like I said—being in a Chronic pain group, women’s group, jail ministry, and altar prayer team…well, there are LOTS of trials and pain, loss, disease,and things unimaginable. Sometimes it weighs me down. Knowing so many people have hard, hard things they are dealing with.
But God, we are not promised anything, except..many things. We are not alone. We get our strength through Him. Our comfort, our peace, our endurance. He is with us. And Paul says…it is for our own good.
Every trial produces the testing of your faith produces endurance. “4 And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.”
It is for our own good. Well, I can concur. When you think back to our trials, they do shape and make us who we are. They are meant to make us look beyond ourselves. To the one who made us and has a plan for us! To pray, be with, and grow with Him. To rely on Him, interact, and walk with. It becomes such a beautiful relationship that would otherwise never form. So that is why we count it joy, for it produces something so special as the result. The struggle is not fun, but when we holdfast, have his word in us, we can endure.
It’s easy to look around and know how others rely on other things and don’t know God. They need him, and how will they if we don’t share him. For that is the beauty of going through it, is to share your own experience. It’s important to work through your testimony, so it’s ready, and summarized in an easy, pointed way. You should know the trial, the How Jesus was there, and how it changes you. Lysa TerKeaurst puts it this way: My Mess, My Messiah Moment, My Message.
Example if you run into someone with pain…I can easily say..I am so sorry I see you struggle with pain, I sure know what that feels like. Yes, it’s hard, I know the Lord hears my prayers though, He’s the one that gets me through it. Done. 2 minute conversation in a line at the store.
I single mom encounter: Oh I remember how hard it is, I was a single mom as well. But you will get through it. I found going to church was helpful and joining with other single moms that had faith. Do you have a church?
There are so many easy ways to connect, be ready for God to give you ways to have those divine encounters.
When YOU are in a trial, God has these encounters ready for you to connect you to someone with a great God testimony too. Be open and ready to share your hardships with others so they can be a blessing to you.
My first memory verse a few years ago
Psalm 55:22 “Cast your cares on the Lord and will sustain you. (SO GOOD) He will not let the righteous be shaken.”
He will sustain us, remember for yourself, and a great verse to share with someone you know going through a trial.
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So good! ❤
Great encouragement Rhonda! I love the the idea of being ready with our testimony! And in different situations!
Awww thank you Rhonda.❤️ That is a great tool to remember. We overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimonies (sharing stories is key).
Love this, thank you Rhonda. ❤️
Im learning that trials must happen for my faith to be unshakable. As uncomfortable as it may feel, bring on the wind. I want to be more like Jesus and if trials are what it takes, so be it. I will learn to be strong, my faith will become unshakable and I will learn to lean on Jesus and not that ofvmyself.
Oh yes, that is a great way to sum it up Brandi!
Trials must happen to make my faith unshakable!
I think that is how I feel…like I know trials are ahead (which scares me), yet, reading the word every day, I KNOW is building me up to be unshakable!
I think of the great palm trees here in Florida to endure the storms and great hurricanes. They bend but amazingly do not break and stay standing in the end.
Trials produce in us silver and gold..we are refined in them. Like a pearl that started off as a stuck train of sand or a piece of coal turned diamond. God’s best work in us and through us is.Pressure from trials. May He have His perfect work done in us!
Good morning She’s! I don’t have time to read all the comments right now but will be back at the end of the day to catch up with you all.
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It’s so nice to see so many new names yesterday & some today – not all new to SRT but some new to commenting – Welcome!
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Testing and trial have been around since Adam & Eve were barred from the garden, but still – it does not make it any easier when they happen. They are for our good – to strengthen us & grow our faith, although it doesn’t seem it when we are in the midst of them. But God – He gives us the strength to keep going forward, to continue marching on, for our good & His glory.
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Please pray – I have a very dear friend who has been battling cancer for a number of years. This past weekend she was in excruciating pain & went to th ER. Drs discovered a blockage, they are not willing to operate because It’s to dangerous & very well could die during surgery. But – if they don’t operate, she will die anyway & will try & make her comfortable. She wants to take the chance because what does she have to lose? Please pray the Dr will be willing & that she would survive it. She is at peace but wants to do something instead of nothing. Her husband is so, so upset. It’s so heart breaking.
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Have a blessed Tuesday dear She’s.
Oh my, that’s heartbreaking. Praying God’s mighty power takes control and for comfort and all of them in this hard time.
Oh Sharon this is such a difficult situation. Praying.
Oh, Sharon! Praying for you as you minister to them along with Jeff, praying tbe doctor will honor her choice, and praying she survives the surgery to have more time whatever it may be. ❤
Heartbreaking! Praying now!
Praying Sharon! For God to move in a mighty way!
Praying for your friends! And for the Dr’s to have wisdom
Praying for your friend, her doctors, nurses, her family and her friends.
Praying for your friend and her hurting husband. Oh my.. so sorry.
How horrible. Praying for your friend and her family!
I’m praying for your friend and her husband, and for you as you minister to them. I’m praying for wisdom for the doctors. I’m praying for God’s to bring peace to all involved, and, if it’s His will, for your friend to survive surgery and for her and her husband to have more sweet time together.
Praying ❤️
Love this, thank you Rhonda. ❤️
Praying Sharon,. what a choice!
praying!❤️
Good morning Shes. I am going to share a prayer I found by Pastor JD Walt.
” God, our Father, help me to be thankful for my trials not because of them, but because of you. This is where you meet me the best- where I need you the most . I feel so far away from this kind of faith. Come Holy Spirit, and cause me to move from my feelings to the facts of faith where I can consider it pure joy to face hard times, for then I will more truly face you. In Jesus name,amen.
I want to join the Facebook group. I tried to join several yesterday. I am looking for someone who be willing to sell me an old SRT book of Romans
I did not see a request from you. This is a private group, so be sure to look in those by putting “SRT-SHE’S” For any new peeps, you must answer the question so I know you are from here! :)
Thank you! Having the name helped a lot. I answered the question with James.I saw several She reads Truth groups Having this specific name helped me to find you right away.
Thank you for sharing this prayer! It is just what I needed to hear today!
Outstanding devotional commentary today! As one who has been through many of life’s worst trials, I love the wind analogy and what it creates in us.
Hi friends. It’s been a while since I commented, but a few months ago I asked for prayers that my boyfriend would fully accept the faith and that God will help him with his personal issues. While I did not get the answer I wanted, I did get an answer. I decided to break up with him last week after a year and a half long relationship, and it hasn’t been the easiest to get over. This study and this devotional couldn’t have come at a better time. I would REALLY appreciate your prayers, sisters, that my ex may still find God, and that I will heal from this relationship. I pray my next relationship is with a man who loves the Lord with all of his heart!❤️
Oh Megan, I’m sorry to hear that. But, I believe, and know that you will be glad and blessed in the end. You want a guy that loves Christ even more than you, and the One God has hand picked for you! Don’t think on things of old…but look excitedly toward what is to come! :)
Megan, my heart hurts for you, but I’m also so proud of you and encouraged by your faith. I know that must’ve been incredibly hard, I’ve had to end long relationships like that and no matter how much peace I felt ending in, it still hurt to lose somebody. praying that he would find the Lord and that God would show you the godly man that you should be with.
Megan I’m so proud that you recognized being unequally yoked would bring hardship. Prayers that God will bring you a godly man.
I am proud of you, too, Megan! Praying along with you and our sisters for comfort from the pain of this breakup and all the time and energy you devoted to it. I believe God will send someone to you or you to them at just the right time. Praying you will both know it’s right without a doubt- when that does happen. ❤
What a brave, obedient decision! I know that even right decisions can be so painful. I pray that you will sense the nearness of God and that you will look only to Him for comfort and joy in this healing season.
Praying for you, Megan
Someone taught me a long time ago about “touchpoints” — there are so many touchpoints that people go through in their faith journey. Someone plants a seed – an introduction that there even IS a God… someone helps water the soil… someone helps remove weeds… season after season – someone does THEIR personal calling of cultivation in that person’s life. Every single person — every single act of cultivating — is needed and useful. Obviously everyone gets to determine for themselves what end decision they will make, but I hope you can be encouraged knowing you played a specific, sacred role in your ex’s life. You were the touchpoint he needed in this season. Continue to pray for whomever is next – a friend, co-worker, family member, maybe a complete stranger! We never know, but God certainly does and will never stop seeking after his lost children :)
Bravo Megan for your brave and wise decision. Very dangerous to be unequally yoked. “Missionary dating” sometimes never works. How kind of you asking prayers for him. Praying over your healing and for the LORD to reward you for choosing His Ways first. So proud of you.
Megan, I’m praying now that your ex will come to believe in Jesus and change his life. And I’m praying for you that God will heal you from the hurt of a broken relationship, and give you peace in the waiting for the relationship He has planned for you.
Praying for your Megan xx
Megan, as others have said, this is a very courageous, brave and wise decision. May the assurances and presence of the Lord meet you in ways that build your resolve and commitment to walk in obedience as your trust Him wholeheartedly for your future.❤️
Amen
Amen
Since I am freshly out of a trial, the analogy of the wildfire and the wind is interesting. I definitely was not a wildfire. I was pleading for it all to stop while also trying to trust that God had plan. James talks about how trials create endurance, and I guess they do after the recovery period, but I am exhausted after these last few weeks. And for the previous trials I have walked through, it has taken me months to see the light and make sense of things. I have an easier time making sense of the trials, endurance, wildfire/wind when I compare those things to my job. At first, things feel very hard and heavy when you start out (special educator), but as time goes on and you are exposed to more “trials/hard things”, you become unruffled and unshakable…or at least I am anyway. Nothing much surprises me anymore! But that is a hard concept to apply to my life outside of work: to my loved ones, to my comforts and way of life. How can I grow deeper roots and become unshakable during my trials? I think I tend to look calm on the outside, but I am actually an anxious disaster on the inside during trials. I definitely need to mull over all of this! Have a blessed Tuesday!
Needed this reminder today. The enemy is attacking and for the first time, I haven’t been sinking. I’ve leaned in to the Lord and given it to Him. No matter the outcome, this still feels like a victory ♥️
Thanks be to God! Keep leaning!
Amen! May we have blessed assurance that each trial has already been overcome by our Savior. I’ve been feeling so defeated and distant from God lately. This devotional came at the perfect time!
Amen! Needed to hear this today.
Going through a lot of things right now where I I feel I’m being hit on all sides. I am reminded that being a Christian does not exclude us from suffering. Rather, we should use these times to reassess and refine our faith in the Lord. It is also during these times that we should cleave to Him. He is our comfort and our strength.
Amen!
Amen!
Amen❤️
The thing with trials is that when we are in them, many times we can’t see any path through them or a solution to get us past them. According to dear TINA, But God …
We can look back and see the guidance and provision of the Lord through previous trials, which builds on our faith and trust that He will come through for us again, maybe not in a way we prefer, but in a way that He knows is best overall.
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Reading Paul’s recap of his trials, my first thought was that he is all-in for God. Paul, who was determined to rid the world of Christians was now suffering to spread the word of Christ. One of the greatest testimonies.
So true. And not seeing that there will be a strengthening in our faith. That lessons will be taught. It becomes very easy to pout, whine and complain. I want to remember that I will find joy in the morning.
Good reflection, Searching! ❤
“The thing with trials is that when we are in them, many times we can’t see any path through them or a solution to get us past them.”
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So true. But God…
Thanks for your/Tina’s encouragement today!
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James 1: 2-4 from The Message: “Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”
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The world and its ways has DEformed us and as we trust God during trials, He REforms us into the people He made us to be.
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LAUREN M, MARINA S, RACHEL IN AL, SUNDAYSCHOOLTEACHER, ELEANOR L praying for your requests.
Thank you for your prayers.
So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”
This reminds me of a song from way back, sung by Christine Wyrtzen. It told the story of a cacoon being watched by a farmer, he saw the butterfly struggling to get out so he thought he’d help it along. When he did the butterfly died. Why? Because it needed the struggle of getting out of the cacoon to make it strong enough to survive.
DEformed to REformed- amen! ❤
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Thank you Kelly.❤️❤️
Morning ladies. It feels like me and my girlfriends are going through so many trials right now… I feel almost like I’m constantly praying and begging for us to be freed from uncertainty, fear, and anxiety. Please can I have prayer for my friend Keisha, a Christian, who is in hospital alone right now with suspected appendicitis and is in a lot of pain? Scans and tests are being run now. Thank you xx
Hi Eleanor…I just prayed for your friend, Keisha. ❤️ Praying for healing and for peace!
Praying, Eleanor, for Keisha and her medical team for correct diagnosis, proper treatment and a smooth recovery ❤️
Thank you!! C
Prayers for your friend Keisha. ❤️
Thank you so much xx
Praying for you and your friends and Keisha.
Thank you so much Cheryl xx
Praying for Keisha, that she will receive treatment and soon be out of pain. And for you and your friends, and the trials you are facing.
Eleanor, praying for Keisha. prayerful all will be well and that the medical team are on it with the guidance of the medical team. ❤️❤️
It is difficult to consider the death of a loved one, or a divorce, or the loss of a job, or lifes difficult moments, that will come, joy, when your heart is broken and inconsolable, confused, shaken, your world rocked, when your life has been shattered, never to be the same again..
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BUT GOD.
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He is ever present in that trial, ever present and near to those who calk on Him in truth..
His does bring the joy when the time is right and your heart is open to seeing His goodness, mercy and grace.
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The JOY comes in the morning.. it always does..(eventually)
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And as the writer said.. these trials shape us, bring us closer to God, to be able to walk alongside another, should they face ‘their’ trials..
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I love the last paragraph.
Faithful in trials is the way Jesus secured our Salvation. Therefore, Faithful in trials is the way Jesus will strengthen our faith and form our Christlike character.
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Amen.
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Happy Tuesday,
Much love,
Tina ♥️
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I am enduring with dementia through God’s grace. this is a trial that I call the 7th inning stretch. there’s been tears,denial, acceptance, and a great leaning on Jesus . God has been faithful through it al
Praying, Sandi, as you walk this path. I love seeing your posts ❤️
thankyou, Searching
Thank you for sharing, Sandi. I’m praying for you.
hi sandi! I work with people with dementia at the end stage in memory care, I hope this brings you encouragement, that some of my riches life lessons I have learned in memory care. it is a true testament of the strength that only Jesus provides. a true testament of glory in our suffering
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Praying
I’m praying for you, Sandi. May God give you peace.
I hold you in prayer daily and am always happy to see your comments, Sandi. God be with you each step of this journey..❤️❤️
Loved the analogy of the wind to a candle flame and wildfire !
Reminds me of this verse in Is 42:3 “A faintly burning wick He will not quench”
What a reassurance it is that our Lord’s heart is never to blow us off and is always to fan us into flame, no matter how fragile our light may be
Thank you for sharing this verse!
This is a difficult one for me. I walked out of my ‘trials’ broken, with a death-grip on Jesus, but also much more pessimistic after the loss of my mother and deeply insecure after the loss of my son many years ago. I AM closer to Jesus now, and I feel as though I understand better, I am more mature and my faith is stronger, but I still don’t welcome the trials. They make me furious, full of righteous rage at the enemy for coming to kill, steal, and destroy. My trials have made me a warrior…but I long to be
Elizabeth Dobson, I am sorry for your troubles.. I pray that you find peace in the trials, trusting ALL to God, who sees you and He will be near. Jesus said.. ” in this life you will have troubles.. but in Him we have overcome.. “(some words my own)Hold fast to Him in ALL circumstances..
much love..
Good morning! Trials and joy are very opposite in my mind! I bristle at the thought of facing trials and am such a complainer! Enjoyed today’s passage- we can face trials with joy because we become more like Jesus and we are not blown to and fro by doubts and uncertainties. Praying for you all this morning ❤️
I agree I do not want to welcome trials. But I’ve found my faith grows with them.