Bible Devotions for Living

Field training is an important part of any training program and God’s training of you is no exception.

As a Christian you will experience all kinds of trials and afflictions:

¹² Dear friends, don’t be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you as if something unusual were happening to you. (1 Pet 4:12)

Expect trials and afflictions. They are part of God’s training program for His people. Your afflictions should be viewed as tests to see how well you handle the heat of the situation. Tests in school help you to learn your strengths and weaknesses and ultimately help you to learn and grow. God’s tests and trials strengthen you spiritually and make you more like Jesus.

Tests, or afflictions, come in many different forms. They could be temptations, health problems, difficulties with people, finances, or a million other ordeals. The key to passing these tests and getting through these afflictions is by knowing and living by God’s Word. When taking a class, you need to study the book to do well on the test. The same holds true for your Christian life. You need to read the Bible and apply it to your life since it is God’s instruction to you for living a godly, holy, and fruitful life. If you study, learn, and apply His Word you have a much better chance of passing the tests and getting through the afflictions. If you don’t study, learn, and apply His Word you will not be prepared for the testing portion of God’s training program. Look at what Jesus said after giving the life instruction in the Sermon on the Mount:

²⁴ “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. ²⁶ “But everyone who hears these words of Mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.²⁷ The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. And its collapse was great!” (Mt 7:24-27)

The message is clear, the people who just hear God’s Word without applying it to their lives will not withstand the storms of life when they come. They will not pass the field training tests of life. How much worse will it be if you are not even reading the Bible at all?

You must read the Bible, understand it, absorb it, and apply it to your life. When reading a training manual to assemble something, you don’t just read the material and then decide to assemble the thing any way you want. If you do, your project will fail. You need to read and do what the book says.

God’s purpose of testing you through afflictions is best illustrated this way:  

Look, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. (Isa 48:10)

Silver is refined under very high heat. As the silver gets hot, the impurities are separated out and burned off. The refining process is completed when the silversmith sees his own reflection in the silver because all the impurities have been burned off. In the same way, God is burning off your impurities through afflictions (tests) until He sees His reflection in you.

Here are a few ways that afflictions refine you, they:

• Test your faith (1 Pe 1:6-8).
• Teach endurance and mature you (1 Pe 1:6-8).
• Teach you about God (Job 42:2-3).
• Teach you how to live by God’s Word and avoid problems (Ps 119:67, 71).
• Train you how to comfort others in their afflictions (2 Cor 1:3-4).

God purifies and trains you through field training tests. Expect the tests and pass them.

Think about it

How do you react in afflictions?

Do you turn to God, away from Him, or against Him? Do you still believe in Him? Do you still trust Him?

Change your thinking and remember you are going through trials and tests to become better. Your afflictions and how you handle them may show impurities in your life. As God gets you through your afflictions you will be purified. Learn from your life tests. If you pass, great. If you fail, learn from it and do better next time.