Daily Bible Verses for 8/13/2016

Bible Verse
Turn at My rebuke; surely I will pour out My spirit on you; I will make My words known to you.

Reading Notes
Sometimes we can go through trials because we are straying from the Lord. As God’s children there will be times of chastening from the Lord. And that’s what these verses speak about. The discipline of the Lord carried out, in order to bring us into closer relationship with God. Does this mean God causes trials? Of course not, trials happen because of our sin, the sin of others, the spiritual warfare waged around us, as well as the fallen world we live in. We have to remember the fall of mankind brought with it disease, decay, accidents and death. However, God may choose to let us go through trials in order to bring us back to relying on Him and not on ourselves. We have to remember faith which has not been tested by a trial, has not yet proven to be true faith in Jesus.

God will and does allow us to go through trials to strengthen our faith. Like fine metals tried by fire, trials, test and bring out the true character of one’s faith in Christ. Oftentimes because of our stubbornness, a trial can be the only thing which brings us to our knees and causes us to remember we are children of God. And that we should rely on God alone and not on ourselves. Moreover, faith is not proven to be genuine faith until it has been sustained through a trial. This is a hard concept for us to understand, however, faith is the trust and belief we have in Christ as we go through a trial. A trial by which we become strengthened, because of the steadfastness of our faith. In addition, when we remain steadfast in Christ during our trials, others see our perseverance, and recognize the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives, as we grow in spiritual maturity. This in turn can bring others to faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.