The Trial of Your Faith. Part [9] 03/31/2024 (Evening thought)

Daniel 12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which stands for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

In other words, the things that are coming upon the earth in short order have no precedents, and this is one of the main reasons why God commanded His prophets to speak of it in such graphic terms. We’re not to take lightly, or for granted, the solemn call to prayer, at such a time as this.

[The Great Controversy pp 622] The “time of trouble such as never was,” is soon to open upon us; and we shall need an experience which we do not now possess, and which many are too indolent to obtain. It is often the case that trouble is greater in anticipation than in reality; but this is not true of the crisis before us. The most vivid presentation cannot reach the magnitude of the ordeal. In that time of trial, every soul must stand for himself before God.

When the trial of our faith comes, the spontaneous reactions usually make manifest whether or not we had been seeking God all along, for instead of going into panic mode, Job kneels down and worships. It doesn’t mean that he was not adversely affected by the trial, he was, but he was able to regroup pretty quickly after receiving the very bad news.

Job 1:20 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped.

May God add His blessing to the study of His word. “Good night” and God bless!

The Trial of Your Faith. Part [8] 03/30/2024 (Morning thought)

Mark 14: 37 And he comes, and finds them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? Couldn’t you watch one hour? 38 Watch you and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.

Trouble came upon the disciples quite suddenly, at a time when they least expected it. Not that Jesus had not told them before, He had told them, but their minds had not grasped the full, and true meaning of His words. Had they prayed, as Christ encouraged them to, their reaction to the sudden change would have been very different.

But because they had failed to come onto the same page with Christ, their reaction to the sudden trial produced an imbalance between Christ and them. In other words, Christ would stand His ground very calmly, as devils ran a mock, while the disciples who hadn’t prayed, ran for cover, and were scattered.

The reason why we are focusing so intently on this issue of preparing for trial through prayer is because most Christians in our day have not a clue as to the urgency of the moment before us. When Daniel says that there would be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation, the prophet means exactly what he says.

Matthew 26: 31 Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. 47 And while he yet spoke, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people.

May The Lord add His blessing to the study of His word. God bless!