Thursday
Evening Bible Study
March
18, 2021
Today’s topic is Trials
When Christians use the term
“trials”, they aren’t talking about a time in court, but are usually
referring to some sort of difficulty in their life.
Even though the
Greek words for “temptation” and “trial” overlap, we don’t use “trial” to talk about some temptation
to do evil, but the general idea of going through a rough time.
In this class I’m going to talk about four words that help us understand
trials.
1. Discipline
One of the big
questions we ask when we encounter a difficulty is …
Why is this
happening to me?
To be honest, sometimes
our difficulty is a result of disobedience on our part.
If I’m
overweight with high cholesterol and I have a heart attack, I do have some
responsibility with that difficulty.
Yet even when
I’m guilty of doing something wrong, it’s important to know that God isn’t
trying to “punish” us, as if we are being handed a ten year
jail sentence for breaking the law. It’s
more like a parent trying to correct their child, teaching their child the
correct way to behave.
(Hebrews 12:5–6 NKJV) —5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to
sons: “My son, do
not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be
discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 For whom the
Lord loves He chastens, And scourges
every son whom He receives.”
The word translating “chasten” carries the idea of working with children,
teaching them the right way to behave.
Sometimes that word is translated “discipline” or “correction”.
When Deb and I
were parents of three young boys, we often faced issues where our boys needed
“correcting”.
If one child hit or bit his brother, as parents we would do something to
bring “correction”. It might be a time
out, a privilege revoked, or even a rare spanking.
And when we brought that correction, we tried to be careful to make sure
the child knew why they were being disciplined.
I might say to
the offender, “I don’t want you to grow up biting people you are mad at!” Or I might say, “You will not talk to your
mother like that. When you grow up you’re not going to be able to talk to your boss like
that”.
After the child
finished their time out, we would be sure to give hugs and kisses.
It’s important
to know that if we are aware that our “trial” is a result of our own bad
behavior (and you’ll know when it is), then our “chastening” only comes because God loves
us so much.
He is not trying to exact some sort of payment for the wrong we’ve done.
He’s trying to get us back on track.
As important as
the lesson “discipline” is, it’s important to know that not all trials come as
a way of correcting something that’s wrong.
If you don’t know what you did wrong, then don’t go looking for some mistake you made.
There are many other reasons we go through difficulty.
2. Maturity
Jesus told a parable about a farmer sowing seed out in his field. There were four different types of soils that
the seed landed in. The growth and
success of the seed depended upon what type of soil the seed landed on. The Word of God is the seed, and we are the
different types of soils.
One soil in particular is of concern to
me. It’s where the seed fell on “stony”
soil, soil with not much dirt, producing plants without deep roots.
Jesus explained what this was about…
(Matthew 13:20–21 NKJV) —20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears
the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has
no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For
when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he
stumbles.
The “heat of
the sun” was a picture of the difficulties that we might go through in life.
If we are too “shallow”, then
God’s Word isn’t going to go very deep in our lives, and we will struggle and
stumble when difficulty comes.
A “deep” Christian is a mature Christian.
James writes about how we can grow “deeper”, or more “mature”.
(James 1:2–4 NKJV) —2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect
and complete, lacking nothing.
The word for
“perfect” speaks of “maturity”.
The ultimate results of trials should be depth or maturity in the believer.
James says we should actually be happy about our
trials because of what they will produce.
One of the first byproducts of going through a difficulty is “patience”.
The Greek word
for patience here is “hupomone”, which means
literally “remaining under” something.
It’s the quality
of a person who doesn’t quit when things get difficult, but who continues to do
what is right.
A person who is
training for skin diving practices holding their breath longer and longer.
Japanese pearl
divers will dive without oxygen tanks 100 to 150 times a day to the ocean’s
bottom, easily holding their breath for two minutes at a time while swimming
vigorously.
That’s what happens with practice.
Going through
difficult times teaches us that we can “hold our breath” a little longer each
time, that we can keep going, that we don’t need to quit.
Illustration
Wilma didn’t
get much of a head start in life. A bout with polio left her left leg crooked
and her foot twisted
inward so she had to wear leg braces. After seven years of painful therapy, she
could walk without her braces. At age 12 Wilma tried out for a girls’ basketball team but
didn’t make it. Determined, she practiced with a girlfriend and two boys every
day. The next year she made the team. When a college track coach saw her during a game,
he talked her into letting him train her as a runner. By age 14 she had outrun
the fastest sprinters in the United States. In 1956 Wilma made the U.S. Olympic team but
showed poorly. That bitter disappointment motivated her to work harder for the
1960 Olympics in Rome—and there
Wilma Rudolph won three gold medals, the most a woman had ever won.
Trials produce
endurance. They produce maturity.
3. Character
Paul says something very similar to James, but
adds a few extra lessons.
(Romans 5:1–5 NKJV) —1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by
faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of
God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory
in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been
poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Just like James, Paul says that “tribulation” produces “perseverance” (hupomone)
But Paul adds that perseverance produces “character”
character
– dokime – approved, tried character; a proof, a
specimen of tried worth;
NAS has “proven worth”
It’s a word
used of coins in the ancient world, coins that were not counterfeit, but were
tested and “proven genuine”.
It’s the
fighter pilot that doesn’t just say he’s the best, but the one that has all the marks on the
side of his plane showing how many dogfights he’s won.
It’s the guy
you choose to be on your baseball team, not the one who boasts of being the
best, but the guy with the actual batting average.
It’s the movie
you choose to watch, not
because it’s the latest thing, but because it has all the good reviews.
It’s the doctor
you choose to do your surgery – not the one fresh out of med school, but the
one with years of experience.
When it comes
to being an excellent witness for Jesus, it’s “character” that speaks the
loudest.
Character is developed when we learn, grow, and endure our difficult times.
4. Hope
It might seem strange to connect
“trials” with hope, but in Romans 5, Paul said that trials and character
produce hope.
I think that this happens when we learn to get our eyes off our trouble and
put our eyes on something else.
(2 Corinthians 4:16–18
NKJV) —16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is
perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us
a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do
not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.
For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are
not seen are eternal.
God uses our trials to produce something important and valuable for us – an “eternal weight
of glory”.
That’s something valuable that’s up ahead of us.
We will be
rewarded for the things we’ve done in this life.
When our eyes are focused on this present difficulty we’re going through,
we get discouraged.
When we turn
our eyes to Jesus and look forward to what is ahead of us, we can endure.
The writer of Hebrews tells us we can endure difficulty when we are …
(Hebrews 12:2 NKJV) looking unto
Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was
set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the
right hand of the throne of God.
We look forward to what’s up ahead.
Illustration
I remember hearing about tests done with Norwegian wharf rats.
These are the rats that live under the piers along the waterfront. One group of rats was placed in a large container of water, in
the dark, with no place to stand on, they had to keep swimming. They all drowned within fifteen minutes. The
second group was placed in a similar container, yet every ten minutes the lab technician would open
the container, take the rats out, stroke them a few seconds, and put them back
in the water. They didn't have time to rest, they just got a little encouragement. These rats went on swimming for over 12 hours
(or something like that...).
The second group had “hope”. They were looking forward to the lab tech opening up the barrel and giving them a stroke and
encouragement.
Hope is what we find when we look to Jesus.
Illustration
There’s a story
about an old missionary couple coming home from spending years in Africa. They were booked on the same
ship as President Teddy Roosevelt who was returning from a successful big-game
safari. As the ship pulled into the harbor, the crowds were lining the docks to cheer on the
President. But nobody was waiting or cheering for the missionaries.
That night the
man was so depressed that nobody seemed to care about how they had spent their
life. The man’s wife said, “Why don’t you go in the bedroom and tell that to
the Lord?” A short time later he came out from the bedroom, but now his face
was completely different. His wife asked, “Dear, what happened?” “The Lord
settled it with me,” he said. “I told him how bitter I was that the President
should receive this tremendous homecoming, when no one met us as we returned
home. And when I finished, it seemed as though the Lord put his hand on my
shoulder and simply
said, ‘But you’re not home yet!’”—
-
Ray Stedman, Talking to My Father
Whatever difficulty you may be facing – put your eyes on Jesus. Ask Him to help you. And look forward to the day when we will
truly be “home”.
Hope that helps