Trials are a part of life. I don’t like them, and I wish that I did not have to go through them. But go through them is what I do. I know I can’t escape them; trials are everywhere. They are to be endured and overcome. That was true in Jesus’ life as well.
The Apostle Luke, in Chapter 4 of the Gospel of Luke, paints the picture of the ultimate in trials and temptations--the easy way out, escape to destruction if you ask me. Glory and fame has its cost as well as placing your allegiance in the right place. There were the trials Jesus faced and in each situation He was able to defend Himself with the weapons He has provided us.
It’s interesting to look at my own life and see how often I tried to overcome on my own. To work out my own way. Each time I tried under my own power, I ended up defeated and in a worst place that when I started. The trial won and I gave in. What did I learn in those times? Not much: quitting is easy, placing blame on another is not going to get it done, and placing my trust in the wrong thing ends in disaster.
What I learn from going through the trial and facing the temptation, is that God has been there all along. The thing I feared the most very seldom happens and what I experience on the other side of the trial is liberation and freedom. This principle you cannot learn unless you go through the trial and arrive on the other side.
Jesus goes before us in trials and temptations and also in liberation and freedom. He shows the way and calls us to follow.
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