Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word.
—Psalm 119:67
Though life itself has its twists and turns, it is also true that some of what we encounter are trials and afflictions allowed by God to strengthen our walks and increase our faith in His Word. When we are going through a time of trial or affliction, the important thing to remember is that there is more to be learned in a trial than just God’s faithfulness to deliver us from it. And the lesson is usually somewhere in the middle.
I have often reminded saints encountering a time of trial to remember that the middle is not the end. In other words, don’t stall out in the middle of a trial. There is a lesson there, and the faster we learn it, the quicker the recovery time (I am not talking about grief or trauma here).
There is nothing we encounter that God will not be faithful to see us through. But too often our trials and afflictions create a limited prayer life concentrated on what we think is the only good part of any trial or affliction: the end.
It is good and right to cry out to God for deliverance, but let’s expand our
cries to encompass the lesson in the middle. Yes, God will be faithful; yes, He will see you through; but what is it in the midst of the trial that He wants you to learn? You can be sure that there is one, for God does not allow anything in our lives that is not for His glory and our good.
Is there an aspect of His Word that He wants to increase your understanding of or that He wants you to begin to keep? Maybe He wants to teach you things like trust, steadfastness, or even how to walk in His will when you don’t feel anything. These are the things that trials and afflictions often teach.
So make no mistake about it, friend. God is in control. His eye is on you, and His hand is under, over, and around you. That is true whether you’re in a trial or not. But if trying times are upon you, seek Him for the lesson while you cry out for deliverance!
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