[Friday's Devotional] - Faithful God

I continued to look into these verses, and came to a conclusion that actually God DOES allow us to go through trials, and He can use those trials to teach us to lean on Him more.

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia.  We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself.  Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.
2 Corinthians 1: 8-9 [NIV]

Trials are needed to refine us, and to prove the genuineness of our faith

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.  Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:6-9 [NIV]

These verses are quite powerful to me, and if I am honest during the last 10 months I have not been that genuine in my faith, I still struggle that God is still letting me go through this crisis of my back – I am not fully healed and still am suffering with it and my leg.   I am disappointed that I lost 3 months with the boys earlier this year, and disappointed that because of paperwork I had to come back to the UK again

BUT - Our God is a faithful God, who will not fail or leave us, and who WILL bring us through our trials:

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.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
James 1:2-4 [NIV]

While reading more about these verses, I came across this which I think sums up exactly who our God is and what He is able to do for us:

"If God never gave us more than we could handle, then we wouldn't be able to handle it when God gives us more"

Dear Father, I thank you that you allow us to go through trials and sufferings, and that you promise to help us through them.  Lord I am sorry when I have not trusted in you whole heartedly. Help us to lean more on you Father, and to develop the relationship you want to have with us. Amen

Victoria Saxby