** In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me. ** Psalm 56:11
** He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. ** Psalm 112:7
** Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. ** Isaiah 12:2
The past couple of weeks we have spoken of God as our refuge and our fortress, that He is with us in our battles, that we have mountain-top views of life when we walk with Him and that He fills us with peace: all as results of trusting in Him. We also have looked at how each of our trials strengthen us and fortify us for the next one.
This process of trial, trust and triumph transforms us into fearless Christians.
Romans 5 explains it this way: Our trials teach us patience. Trials take time to work themselves out. We learn from the beginning to the end of each trial that this too shall pass. We face each problem not knowing how or when they will be over and what will be the outcome, but each one ends sooner or later and we have gained something: A little more patience to deal with the next one. Practice gives us the patience to wait out the hardship of each one.
The natural result of the process of waiting patiently through a trial, first of all, tests our trust in the Lord. So, not only does our patience level increase but also our trust level. These in turn have the fruit of experience so we are better equipped for tomorrow’s trial.
Walking through several of these trial, trust and triumph processes is now growing hope in us. We have seen how God moves and works and loves us through each past trial and now we begin to face the latest ones with a sure hope that He will be just as present as He was in the former ones.
Our hope now transforms into boldness: a fearlessness to speak of Him to others. We have a willingness to share our triumphs and the Lord’s faithfulness. Our stories are filled with faith and become hope seeds for others. We are no longer embarrassed or ashamed of being called a Christian. We are becoming true followers and witnesses for Christ.
The final gift of this process is the deeper knowledge and assurance of God’s love for us. We have learned that each trial has a purpose. We come to understand better that His plan is perfect, and that He doesn’t make mistakes. We realize that He really does know better than we do and His capacity to love us and stay close through our shock, our tears, our anger, our pouting, our depression and our failing faith that each trial brings. We may throw in the towel on the darkest days of the trials, but He never does. He keeps working things out for our good and His love shines brighter and brighter in us and through us.
After time and experience build all of this into us, the amazing love that He shows us during each of our trials we are now able to show to others. We approach people with a sincere desire to see them prosper and grow through this same process of trial, trust and triumph. We want them to be fearless also. We want their heart’s to be fixed, like ours is. We want them to be as willing to walk through any trial that comes their way, knowing that they can trust the Lord completely. Because He has truly become our strength and our song and our salvation.
Learning to trust the Lord is a lifelong process. The trial, trust and triumph process. Whatever large or small trial we face today, we are walking through the process of growing our faith: believing and trusting the Lord to fulfill His promises and transform us into fearless Christians.