Tag: trials

Potatoes, Eggs and Coffee

I recently heard an interesting illustration I thought I would share with you today.

If you take some potatoes and put them in a pan of boiling water, after a short while, they will become soft and you can even crush them. Take that same pan of water, but instead, add eggs. After a time, the eggs, unlike the potatoes, will go hard. Finally, if you added coffee beans instead to that very same pan of boiling water, this time wonderful flavours and aromas of coffee will begin to emerge.

The point – we are react differently to times of trial. In our illustration, the rolling hot water represents a time of testing for us. If we are like the potatoes, we will become softened and ultimately crushed by the trial. If like the eggs, we would become hard and impliable. Or finally, we could be like the coffee, using the trial to produce something new and wonderful.

Which are you?

In the Bible, James says this:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

James 1:2-3 (NIV)

Consider it pure joy James, come on! Who of us can ever face a time of great difficulty and be joyful in the midst of it? A Christian can, drawing on the strength of God.

No trial is enjoyable, let’s be honest, but we endure it because we know it has a purpose. Here, James points out that our testing and trials produce perseverance. There is a reason for the trials we face, even if we do not see it at the time.

James asks us to be joyful, and not happy. That is an important distinction. Happiness comes from the word “happenstance” meaning circumstances. We are happy when all of our circumstances are how we want them. Joy is not so dependent on such fickle things. Joy is a Fruit of the Holy Spirit (see Galations 5:22-23). We have joy not because our present circumstances are good, but because we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts.

Fruit must be cultivated and developed. I am no gardener, but we do have a small group of fruit trees. I’ve lost several over the years due to not properly taking care of them. The more I care for the tree, the better the fruit I get and the more abundant it is. If you lack joy, is it because you are not taking care of it?

I do not know what trials you face right now, but I do know you have a choice about how you handle them. Don’t let them crush you like the potatoes, nor let them make you hard like the eggs. Use them, don’t waste them! Lean on your Heavenly Father to get through them and be like the coffee, letting those times of difficulty bring out something new in you.

And do let me pray for you. Leave a comment below or on the social media links and I’ll be glad to pray for you and your situation.

Are you a potato, egg or delicious cup of coffee?

I’m Still Here!

This is the eighth week in a row where I have published daily posts on the blog. Who knew I had so much to say?!

Most days I have a fair idea of what I want to write about, but occasionally God reminds me that it really isn’t about what I want, it’s about what He wants. I was all set to write about the Ten Commandments, and the commandment to honour one’s parents in particular. But not so for today. Hopefully that will come out tomorrow.

For today, I felt that it was important to talk about endurance.

I know that many of you reading this will be going through all manner of trouble and trials right now. It may feel like life is going drastically wrong and you are not sure how much more you can take. You are seeking some form of success in your Christian walk, yet just surviving has become the order of the day.

But you are still here! You are still going! Others may have fallen by the wayside or given up altogether – but not you!

If nothing else, you can say “I’m still here!”

It may feel like you can’t take any more. The temptations, the trials, the worries of this life may be piling up, but I want to encourage you today and let you know you can make it.

No temptation has overtaken you that is unusual for human beings. But God is faithful, and he will not allow you to be tempted beyond your strength. Instead, along with the temptation he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to endure it.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (ISV)

You may be ready to shout, “God, I can’t bear it anymore!” But, and I don’t mean this to sound harsh or unkind, you’re wrong. You can bear it! God will never allow any temptation to come upon you which you cannot bear. If you are facing it, then God knows you can stand it. If your trouble is great, then that is a compliment to you, because it means you have the strength to face it.

God will always provide a way out for you. Now don’t misunderstand that part of the verse. It does not mean God will always provide a way to stop the trouble or temptation, but provide a way out for you to endure it. Sometimes the only way out is through!

You can endure what it is you are facing. Don’t give up! Don’t quit! It may be hard or even the hardest thing you have ever faced, but you can make it if you stick with Jesus.

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:13 (ISV)

You can do all things (that He has called you to do) through “him.” Who is the “him?” It is sometimes translated as “the Messiah” and so clearly points to Christ. You can do whatever you need to do through your ongoing relationship to and with Christ.

Practice carrying each other’s burdens. In this way you will fulfill the law of the Messiah.

Galatians 6:2 (ISV)

Don’t try to go it alone. Draw your strength from Christ, but also seek the support of the family of believers. Let others help you bear the burdens you carry. If there is nothing practical they can do, then they can at least listen to you at this time.

More importantly, they can pray for you. If you have no one in your life who can stand with you in prayer, please get in touch and I will gladly pray for you. Use the Contact page to get in touch.

Therefore, having so vast a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, and throwing off everything that hinders us and especially the sin that so easily entangles[a] us, let us keep running with endurance the race set before us, 2 fixing our attention on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of the faith, who, in view of the joy set before him, endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:1-2 (ISV)

There is nothing I can add to these words. Many have gone before us, as mentioned throughout Hebrews chapter 11 (such as David, Moses, Abraham etc.) and faced their own challenges and trials. We, like them, must run our own race and run it to completion.

Your race won’t be the same as mine. Some will have a flat course to navigate, while others a steeplechase with all kinds of obstacles in their path. Whatever your race looks like, keep on going!

Don’t give up. And don’t give up on Christ. You can bear up under the temptations you face today and every day. Hard it may be, but you can do it!

If you are one of the few who have no problems right now, then help bear another’s burdens. Support them and lift them up. Pray for them and bless them.

For those who feel they cannot go on, please hold on one more day. Tell God how you feel, and cry out to Him. Job from the Bible lost everything, and he railed at God. He cried out to God and he was angry and in pain. Yet he did it with God.

I pray that God will help you to endure whatever you are facing right now. I pray you will have the strength you need to continue, and to do so in His grace.

If you see no other victory in your life, then your testimony can simply be – “I’m still here!”

Amen!