"In this world you will have tribulations...." - Jesus

John 16:33 - I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

Jesus said that we will have tribulations. Whether we like it or not, we will face trials and testing one time or another. It can come in many forms: persecution, sickness, relationships ect.

The consoling fact is that Jesus himself went through trials and testing and He overcame them. Heb 4:15 - For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. And because of this "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." With Jesus we can sail through any trial or testing.

When we go through trials and testing, a few other things surface:

We discover our true deficiencies.   It was in his trials, that Job discovered that  "I am unworthy—how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth." Job 40:4. Earlier in the chapters we read how Job argues with God and unfair it was for him to go through suffering. But through it all, he realized that he deserved nothing. Its through trials, we realize how much we lack in our spiritual walk, how much of work the Holy Spirit has still got to do with us. How much more we need to draw close to God

We appreciate our true acquaintances.   Its in time of difficulty when you know who can be trusted and who will stand by us. Our friends, church believers and those whom we have trusted may betray and desert us. Even if everyone leaves us, Jesus will not. He know what it means to suffer alone. During his trial, all his disciples deserted him. At the cross, even His Father left Him. He knows what it means to be lonely. That's why Jesus said “I will never leave you nor forsake you.- Heb 13:5. 

We learn the worth of true worship.  Its so easy to worship God when everything is going our way. Can we do the same, when we lose a loved one, when we go through prolonged illness or go through one crisis after another. True worship emanates like a sweet smelling fragrance, when we are able to lift our hands and worship God in those circumstances. That my friend, is true worship. When Job heard the news of the calamities coming one after another in sequential chorus, his response was: "Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship. “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart.The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” - Job 1:20-21.

It is trough trials and testing that we discover our true deficiencies, appreciate our true acquaintances and learn the worth of true worship.

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