Trusting God in His Timing with our Trials & Temptations

I am always amazed at how God uses different platforms to reach us.  And they all seem to work together at the same time.  Have you ever noticed that what you are studying at church may also be what you are discussing and studying in your small group.  And then all the sudden, it's what you are studying in your Bible Study?  It just puts me in awe that God orchestrates all these things to be studying the same thing at the same time.  Coincidence?  Nope, I don't think so. 

So here I sit in the Book of James.  If you haven't read James, it's towards the back of your Bible.  Only 5 chapters long but full of truths and reminders for all of us.  James is believed to have been the half brother of Jesus and that little tidbit just blows my mind.  So here I am studying James for church small group AND for my Bible Study Fellowship.  That tells me that God really wants me to see and learn something in James.  And in today's world, as we deal with this pandemic, I think God wants all of us, including me, to see His timing is perfect even in all our trials and temptations.

James starts out by telling us we are to "consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance".(James 1:2-3)  I don't know about you but being locked up in my house waiting on God's time is not joy producing.  It's frustrating, it's lonely, it's often times fearful.  But that fear and frustration is not God.  God doesn't fill us with fear.  God can't and doesn't tempt us.  All that fear and temptation comes from the evil one that constantly tries to stir up chaos and shift our eyes off of Jesus.

Part of finding the joy in our trials and temptations is knowing that we can completely trust God in all of it.  His timing is perfect.  His plan can not be derailed.  Sometimes we can see with great clarity the plans God has laid out in front of us.  Other times, we have to walk through the wilderness to get to the clearing in order to see God's plan.  But regardless of how God's plan is revealed to us, we must be patient, be in prayer and be in God's Word so that we can sit in contentment and have joy in the trusting.

As we all sit here in this pandemic, we need to remember that God is still at the center of it all.  God has a purpose and a plan for all of us through this pandemic.  Elisabeth Elliot once said, "I'm convinced that there is nothing that can happen to me in this life that is not precisely designed by a sovereign Lord to give me opportunity to learn to know Him."  God never has a Plan B.  God always knows the plan and God never wavers from the plan.  Often we are so tempted in our trials to walk away from God's plan and work on our own.  But just as James has pointed out, "Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything". (James 1:4)  Part of walking with God in faith is trusting His timing.  We must trust Him through all our trials, including this pandemic.

Part of life includes difficult days.  But it's those difficult days that God is using to mold you into who He wants you to be.  It is in those difficult days that we can have joy because God has a purpose in each difficult moment we experience.  As a friend of mine said in a lecture on James, "there is always a purpose in the test- it is to help us develop true faith". (Carol Ruckart)  God never gives us more than we can handle even though at times we may feel like our cup is running over.  God uses all our hurts, all our trials, all our temptations to grow us and develop our faith.  Nothing is wasted, ever.

"Sometimes the very essence of faith is trusting God in the midst of things He knows good and well we cannot comprehend." (Beth Moore)  And until God's perfect plan is shown to us, we must continue to trust Him.  We must never doubt for He is never unfaithful.  God is always constant, always present, always aware and always doing what is best for His children.  Even in today's pandemic and in each of your homes.

I recently had a conversation with my 20 year old who is preparing to finish up his sophomore year of college.  The light bulb had gone off and he was realizing, in two years, he will be done with school, what will he do?  He was so overwhelmed with the unknowns that he was losing sight of the now.  He was missing the opportunities that God has given him to grow now and to trust.  I reminded him that sometimes we can't see past the weeds, but God can.  And when it is time, God will show you the path that He desires for you to walk.  "To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven." Ecclesiastes 3:1 NKJV

Don't allow the trials and temptations of today bog you down so that you can't see the joy in the moments.  Jesus was tempted for 40 days in the desert by Satan.  Jesus trusted God and stood on the promises of God throughout the entire 40 days.  God does not allow Satan to tempt us beyond what we can handle.  God does not allow trials to go wasted.   Don't miss the opportunities for growth that God is giving you through each trial and circumstance.  God is with you through all of it.

"Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him." James 1:12

Lord, help us to remember that nothing goes unnoticed by You.  You are with us through all our trials and temptations and You have a purpose in each of them.  Keep our eyes on You, Lord, for You know the best plan for our lives.  We praise You Lord for the opportunities for growth of our faith in each trial.  May we trust You with each step knowing that every good and perfect gift comes from You who does not change.  Amen.