Our Own Trial

I have been reflecting on what I learned at church today. The Sunday school lesson stood out the most. We talked about three faith promoting saints Deborah, Gideon, and Samson. Each of these Israelites had their own case that lifted their faith and sent them to places that they would of never been had not the Lord been part of their lives. Deborah strengthened Barak to face the enemies of Israel, Gideon faced thousands with his three hundred and Samson, a repentant soul, brought down the house of the Philistines with the strength of the Lord.

I was thinking of how the Lord in his infinite wisdom has given each of us our own trial or test. Barak asked the prophetess to be there to strengthen him as he faced an enemy that could have crushed Israel. In other words he asked someone with more faith to assist him so that his faith would be stronger. Gideon asked the Lord for a miracle, not to test the Lord but to affirm his own faith that he was being obedient and that the Lord would be there for him and his three thousand brethren. Finally the Nazarite, Samson who had done so much that would have soiled Israel’s good name asked in fervent prayer to be an instrument one last time and allow him to destroy the enemies of his people. He would give his life and seal his testimony of the power and divinity of God by destroying pillars that held the building up.

I think of the trials that I have been asked to go trough and at first I thought that I was going to die from them. I am eternally grateful that I am alive but more than that I love the fact that I have learned from the experiences that I have been in. I have learned faith and gained knowledge from plain and simple things that could not have happened if I had not seen the miracle that they were.

At one time two weeks ago I was talking about training wheels in reference to riding a bike and the lesson that we gain when they are removed. We are asked to ride alone, no extra wheels, and sometimes we fall but most of the time we have gained the faith to balance and stand on our own and just as we were infants being taught to walk; our parents are always there and will cheer us on as we accomplish things for ourselves. The more I learn about walking on my own by faith the more scared I become because like flying, as you look through the window you realize that you are leaving the ground. Your initial thought is fear of falling but you keep rising. Somehow I think that my faith has got to that pivotal moment where the wheels have left the ground and I realize that I am rising. Part of me wants to shout for joy but the other part wants to throw up from fear. I trust the Lord it’s just a new experience. I sense that this flight of faith has been for a while as I have begun to see and recognize the miracles of my life and have made special effort to thank my Father in Heaven for them and the chance to see them come to pass in my life.

I know that not everyone will have these types of epiphanies because the test is different for each of us. You can’t cheat on this test; the answers are unique for each of us. Attempting to cheat will only result in unhappiness. Let us each take some time to recognize the faith promoting miracles in our lives. Don’t cheat yourselves of the great experience that God has given us.

Image is here.