Joy In The Trial

I tend to be a slow learner.  Over the last seven years of my life as I have faced adversity or trials my focus has most often been on escape.  The adversity I have faced has been great at times and sometimes it’s just a little annoyance because things don’t go my way.  In the end, I find myself asking God to deliver me from my adversity.   But lately, I have learned that I have been seeking the wrong thing.  Instead of being delivered from the trial, I am to find my complete joy in Jesus while in the middle of the fire.

Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were three Hebrew men who faced the fiery furnace because of their great love for God and refusal to worship King Nebuchadnezzar.   When the king looked into the fire he was confused by what he saw...

“Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.” ” (Daniel 3:24–25, ESV)

In the midst of the fire, the God of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah was with them.  As they emerged from the fire they did not even have the smell of smoke on their clothing.  Anyone who has ever been around a fire knows that you can’t keep the smell of smoke out of anything.  For those after a house fire, getting rid of the smell is the biggest obstacle of all.  As the men emerged from the fiery furnace, the King’s response was pure amazement.   He praised God because he recognized no one had the power to rescue the way their God had rescued them. 

James 1:2-4 is clear that followers of Jesus are to be joy filled even in the midst of trials.  Trials come in all different shapes and sizes.  But one thing they all have in common is their ability to shape us for God’s glory.  We often want to flee and find a way out.  When we are facing adversity, we often just want to find the path of least resistance to alleviate our discomfort.  Instead, we are to find our joy in Jesus while allowing him to work his plan through the adversity.  No matter what it is that you face look to Jesus as your joy instead of simply for a solution.