TRIALS, GOD’S HELP IN

Long ago, in the days of sailing ships, a terrible storm arose and a ship was lost in a deserted area. Only one crewman survived, washed up on a small uninhabited island. In his desperation, the castaway daily prayed to God for help and deliverance from his lonely existence. Each day he looked for a passing ship and saw nothing. Eventually he managed to build a crude hut, in which he stored the few things he had recovered from the wreck and those things he had made to help him.

One day, as the sailor was returning from his daily search for food, he saw a column of smoke. As he ran to it he saw his hut in flames. All was lost. Now not only was he alone, but he had nothing to help him in his struggle for survival. Stunned and nearly overcome with grief and despair, he fell into a deep depression and spent a nearly sleepless night wondering what was to become of him and questioning whether life itself was even worth the effort.

The next morning, he rose early and went down to the sea. There, to his amazement, he saw a ship lying offshore and a small boat rowing toward him. When the once-marooned man met the ship’s captain, he asked him how he had known to send help. The captain replied, “Why, we saw your smoke signal yesterday, but by the time we drew close the tide was against us. So we had to wait until now to come and get you.”

Do not despair when calamity strikes, for God is always able to bring a blessing out of what seems to be a curse.1414

A vine clings to an oak tree and in so doing finds the protection in times of trial that preserves it. If a violent storm should arise and the vine is on the side of the tree away from the wind, the tree serves to protect the vine from the wind, which would otherwise tear it away and rip it into shreds. If the vine is on the exposed side of the tree, the wind serves only to press the vine closer to the tree it already clings to.

In the storms of our life, God will at times set himself between us and the fury of the storm and so protect us from it. At other times, he will expose us to the storm so that its ravages may serve to press us closer to him.1415

Some flowers, such as the rose, must be crushed if their full fragrance is to be released. Some fruits, such as the sycamore, must be bruised if they are to attain ripeness and sweetness. Some metals, such as gold, must be heated in the furnace if they are to become pure.

The attaining of godliness—the process of becoming a mature Christian—requires similar special handling. It is often through pain, suffering, trouble, adversity, trials, and even temptation that we develop spiritual discipline and become refined and enriched.1416

When a wood sculptor wants to create a work of art, he starts with a log and begins to fashion it with a sharp chisel. He meticulously cuts and shapes that log until finally he has his finished product. The log, which might otherwise have been burned in a fireplace, has become a beautiful masterpiece that can be displayed on the mantle over the fireplace.

God’s working in our lives may sometimes be painful, yet his ultimate purpose for us is to produce a masterpiece.1417

The story is told of two artists who were putting the finishing touches on a painting high on a scaffold in a church. The younger artist stepped back to admire the work and became enraptured with the beauty of what he and his mentor had created. His master saw his pleasure and realized that in the emotion of the moment the young man was continuing to step back, inching toward the edge of the scaffold. In another moment he would plunge to his death. Fearing he would frighten his student by a warning cry, the master artist deliberately splashed paint across the painting. The young man lunged forward in shock and cried out, “What have you done? Why did you do that?” Upon hearing the reason, his anger and confusion melted into tears of joy and thankfulness.

God sometimes uses trials to protect us from ourselves, especially from the naive enthusiasm that could lead us to disaster.1418

When the time comes, an eagle stirs up the nest and turns her young ones out into mid-air, compelling them to use their wings. In a similar manner, God allows many a human heart to be disturbed by troubles to bring about an urgent sense of need for the Savior.1419

When God wants to drill a man,

And thrill a man,

And skill a man;

When God wants to mold a man

To play the noblest part,

When he yearns with all his heart

To create so great and bold a man

That all the world shall be amazed,

Watch his methods, watch his ways—

How he ruthlessly perfects

Whom he royally elects.

How he hammers him and hurts him,

And with mighty blows, converts him

Into trial shapes of clay

Which only God understands,

While his tortured heart is crying,

And he lifts beseeching hands.

How he bends but never breaks

When his good he undertakes.

How he uses whom he chooses,

And with every purpose, fuses him,

By every act, induces him

To try his splendor out.

God knows what he’s about.1420

A young boy carried the cocoon of a moth into his house to watch the fascinating events that would take place when the moth emerged. When the moth finally started to break out of his cocoon, the boy noticed how very hard the moth had to struggle. The process was very slow. In an effort to help, he reached down and widened the opening of the cocoon. Soon the moth was out of its prison. But as the boy watched, the wings remained shriveled. Something was wrong. What the boy had not realized was that the struggle to get out of the cocoon was essential for the moth’s muscle system to develop. In a misguided effort to relieve a struggle, the boy had crippled the future of this creature. Trials are necessary for growth.1421

The trials of our faith are like God’s ironing. When the heat of trials are applied to our lives the wrinkles of spiritual immaturity begin to be smoothed out.1422

Bees undergo an interesting process to ensure the healthy development of their young. The queen lays each egg in a six-sided cell, which is filled with enough pollen and honey to feed on until the egg reaches a certain stage of maturity. The top is then sealed with a capsule of wax. When the occupant has exhausted its supply of nourishment, the time has come for the tiny creature to be released from its confinement. But what a wrestling, tussling, and straining it endures to get through the wax seal! The opening is so narrow that in the agony of its exit, the bee rubs off the membrane that encases its wings—so that when it does emerge, it is able to fly.

If an insect were to get into the hive and devour the wax capsules, the young bees could crawl out without any effort or trouble but would be unable to fly. Soon their mature relatives would instinctively proceed to sting them to death.

Christians also need the times of wrestling and straining with trials so that they may be prepared to do God’s will for their life.1423

It is always good to attend church or Bible study and sit and soak up the truth of God’s Word like a sponge. But we must realize that sponges work best when they are squeezed.1424

Paul’s statement in Romans 8:28 that “all things work together for good” sounds like the ingredients for a cake after they have been mixed together. Some of the ingredients used to make a cake taste good by themselves. Other ingredients, such as alum, baking powder, or flour are not very palatable. Nevertheless, they are essential and must be mixed with the good-tasting ingredients to produce a delicious final product.

God can be trusted to take even the bitter experiences of life and blend them together and make them work together for good. God knows which ingredients are needed, and he knows how to mix them to produce the desired result.1425

Wilson Johnson, the founder of Holiday Inn motels, once said, “When I was forty years old I worked in a sawmill. One morning the boss told me I was fired. Depressed and discouraged, I felt like the world had caved in. When I told my wife what had happened, she asked me what I was going to do. I replied, ‘I’m going to mortgage our little home and go into the building business.’ My first venture was the construction of two small buildings. Within five years I was a multimillionaire! At the time it happened, I didn’t understand why I was fired. Later, I saw that it was God’s unerring and wondrous plan to get me into the way of his choosing.”1426

In his Bible, an elderly minister carried a bookmark that was made of silk threads woven into a motto. The back of the bookmark was a tangled web of crossed threads that seemed to be without reason or purpose. When the minister visited a home or hospital room where there was great trouble, sorrow, or death, he would frequently show the bookmark, first presenting the reverse side with all its unintelligible tangle. When the distressed one had examined it intently without finding any meaning to the seeming disorder, the minister would ask him to turn the fabric over. Immediately, against a white silk background, there appeared a phrase in colored threads: “God Is Love.” That side made sense; it had order and meaning.

So it is in life. We often experience events that seem to be without explanation or meaning, like a maze of tangled threads. But when we are face to face with Christ and can view our life from eternity, we will see that every detail—good and bad, pleasant and unpleasant—was woven together to show us that indeed “God Is Love.”1427

Hudson Taylor, founder of the China Inland Mission (now the Overseas Missionary Fellowship), was talking to a young missionary who was about to start work in China. “Look at this,” Taylor said and then proceeded to pound his fist on the table. The tea cups jumped, and the tea was spilled. While the startled young man was wondering what was going on, Taylor said, “When you begin your work, you will be buffeted in numerous ways. The trials will be like blows. Remember, these blows will bring out only what is in you.”1428

At a cross-country steeplechase exhibition, one horse suddenly shied away from a hurdle and ran into a barbed-wire fence. The results were disaster, as the rider was taken by ambulance to a hospital and the bleeding horse remained ensnarled in the wire until the slow process of cutting it away was completed.

The underlying tragedy was seen in the fact that the jump was a low one, which the horse could have easily cleared. Yet the horse apparently took the fence to be an opening in the course and thus an escape from the obstacle.

How we as believers are often like that foolish horse! When faced with difficulties, do we look for the the way out rather than trusting in God’s provision? Do we break for the open at the first opportunity, only to find that we have become ensnared and that our present difficulty is far worse than the one we sought to avoid?1429

A Malayan boy, after having become a Christian, found himself in the midst of a truly demonic attack in the early weeks of his new Christian walk. Allah had been put behind him and the occult practices that had been woven together with this former Moslem faith had been turned from, but his Christian faith was like a tiny child’s first steps.

This boy went through demon activity, which he had experienced before in his life, and his call went forth to God, “Oh, God, help me.” However, since there was no immediate, visible change, the boy fell into the trap Satan had set for him. “It isn’t working!” was the cry of his heart, and his old reaction pattern came forth: “I’ll try this, and this.…” And so next, he called, “Allah be praised!” and then used some Arabic words in a “magic” formula handed down for generations.

The young Christian did not yet know that superstitious “crossing your fingers” is not a sign of faith. He was later to learn the joy and freedom of trusting the power of God alone. Faith asks not in unbelief, but in belief without doubting.1430

Have you ever seen someone break a mustang? When a three-year-old horse who has never had a saddle on his back first feels a saddle, it must be a frightening experience. Some horses will react with anger, rearing back and trying to get away—even striking out with their forefeet at their trainer. Their nostrils flare, their eyeballs roll, and they panic! Others will just stand there, trembling, shaking like a leaf. They won’t move; they’re so afraid. They don’t know what’s happening to them.

Immature Christians respond to trials like wild horses. Some panic and cry out to the Lord, “What’s gone wrong?” Others just freeze and do nothing. Mature Christians are like horses who have learned to trust their trainer. They sense what is happening and respond to it by submitting to the hand of their Master, knowing that he will do them no wrong.1431

Trials are not to our detriment but add to our growth. For example, consider the kite flyer. He must take in hand the string of his kite and run until the kite lifts up into the heavens. But he will not reach his goal of a flying kite if there is no wind. Every kite flyer knows that wind is necessary for flying kites. But note that kites do not rise with the wind but rise against it. So it is with trials. The Christian will not ascend to patience and maturity unless he ascends against trials. Do trials make you soar above, or just plain sore?1432

A carpenter hired to help restore an old farmhouse had just finished up a rough first day on the job. A flat tire had made him lose an hour of work, his electric saw quit, and now his ancient pickup refused to start.

As he rode home with a friend, he sat in stony silence. On arriving, as he walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands. Then, opening the door, he underwent an amazing transformation. His tanned face was wreathed in smiles and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss.

Why the transformation? The tree in his yard was his “trouble tree.” He knew he couldn’t avoid having troubles on the job, but one thing was for sure—troubles didn’t belong in the house with his wife and children. So he just hung his troubles on the tree every night when he came home and, in the morning, picked them up again. The funny thing was that when he came out in the morning to collect his troubles, there weren’t nearly as many as he remembered hanging up the night before.1433

A lot of Christians have an ejection-seat mentality. As soon as they get into difficulty, they want to pull the ejection cord and zip off into glory, hoping to get away from it all.1434

No pharmacist ever weighed out medicine with half as much care and exactness as God weighs out every trial he dispenses. Not one gram too much does he ever permit to be put on us.1435

In 1895, Andrew Murray was in England suffering from a terribly painful back, the result of an injury he had incurred years before. One morning while he was eating breakfast in his room, his hostess told him of a woman downstairs who was in great trouble and wanted to know if he had any advice for her. Andrew Murray handed her a paper he had been writing on and said, “Give her this advice I’m writing down for myself. It may be that she’ll find it helpful.” This is what was written:

In time of trouble, say, “First, he brought me here. It is by his will I am in this strait place; in that I will rest.” Next, “He will keep me here in his love, and give me grace in this trial to behave as his child.” Then say, “He will make the trial a blessing, teaching me lessons he intends me to learn, and working in me the grace he means to bestow.” And last, say, “In his good time he can bring me out again. How and when, he knows.” Therefore, say “I am here (1) by God’s appointment, (2)in his keeping, (3) under his training, (4) for his time.”1436