Trials

Last night I watched a movie called "One Night with the King." It somewhat accurately follows the journey of Queen Esther and her pursuit to save her people, the Jews. Amidst the unknown circumstances of the fate of their people, a friend of her's wants to escape. She replies, "Perhaps instead of asking questions of our trials, our trials are meant to ask questions of ourselves." What profound words, even if they didn't come directly from Queen Esther's lips. We so often look at hard times and trials longing to escape, longing to be in different circumstances that are happier, more satisfying and with wider ground to stand on. Instead, this quote shows the abundant goodness of our God within trials because they are some of the most defining moments we face. Trials make or break us and both situations can still lead to our good if we let God be God.

Trials remind me when Jesus calmed the storm. "Let us go across to the other side," Jesus said. They didn't hear Him, or at least didn't take it in and hold that statement dear as they felt themselves falling from life when the great storm arose. Did you hear it? Jesus said they were going to get to the other side and yet when the storm arose they all lost their faith in Him and doubted His plan. We're not so different, are we? They run to Jesus in exasperation crying, "Do you not care that we are perishing?" Oh, I look at my life and I wonder how many times I've felt myself falling, felt myself 'perishing,' unable to survive much longer. And all along Jesus is there whispering, "Katie, do you not know that I know? Do you not know that I have a great plan to get you to the other side? Do you not have faith that I will act on my promises and carry you through your entire life? Are you that hard-hearted and cold, are you that deaf, are you that doubtful of my abundance, great mercy and power?"

When Jesus calmed their storm, they were terrified and said, "Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?" Do we realize His great power and authority that even the wind and sea obey Him? He's a great God, a God that answers these men when they cried out, even in their lack of faith. What trials do we face that instead of asking "why?" of those hard times we should instead be searching within and seeing what questions of ourselves these times are meant to answer.