“Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.” Psalm 50:15
God has spoken this scripture to me recently as a reminder of the outcome for a Christ follower.
If you are a true follower of Christ Jesus you can expect to go through a season where it seems like God has forgotten you and allows many troubles to come into your life. The scriptures testify of severe testing for the people of God.
The question is why does a God of love and compassion allow this to happen?
Here are my insights developed over many years of walking with God:
God creates different seasons in your life. There are times of prosperity and times of adversity. The difficult times are designed to strengthen your faith, teach you patience, and discipline you in the ways of God.
God judges the nations. We do not respect or fear our great God. This brings retribution like the recent pandemic. The Israelites were God’s chosen people but they failed to obey God and went through a horrific experience.
If you are serious about God, He has to prepare you for doing the work of the gospel. This can seem cruel and last many years. Moses tended sheep for forty years to prepare Him for his ministry.
There will be times of isolation, deprivation, and blindness in your walk with God. This is to get you to the point of total obedience and reliance upon God.
God knows you better than you know yourself. The refining nature of God is to reach deep into your personality and soul to take away your self nature and disposition for sin.
The purpose of God is create your total obedience to Him even if it may cost your life.
You have to get to the point where your heart is reconciled to this truth; He is God and can do with me as He desires.
Here is an awesome promise of God for those going through a time of hardship:
“But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.” 1 Peter 5:10
Hal Hollister Ministry 