Finding Joy in Trial: 5 Helpful StepsSampel

Step Three: Think on Truth—Believe God’s Word and Trust His Promises.

This step is critical. It is simple. But it is not easy.

Many times throughout the day we are confronted with a choice. It is the choice of whether or not we will humbly trust the Lord and believe His Word. It is the choice of whether or not we will believe that He is God, that He is good, that His promises are true, and that He will always keep them. It is the choice of whether or not we will receive these things on a very personal level—affirming that He is my God, that He is good to me, and that what he is allowing in my life is for my good (always). Affirming that His promises are not only true but that they are true for me and that He will keep them.

These are the questions, decisions, and choices that will arise daily and sometimes throughout the day as we experience great trials. We will find ourselves challenged, tested, and tempted by the questions of who God is, who God is to us, and whether or not we will live for Him even amid the current difficulty. And the answers we give to these questions and challenges are important. What we think matters. And what we think about God and His Word matters greatly. A.W. Tozer once wrote, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”

During great trials, logic can leave us. When we are suffering deeply and for a prolonged period it can be so hard to hold onto the most elementary things about God that we know to be true. So we must be very intentional. When we are being faced with an excruciatingly painful situation, or when we are struggling in the thick of a difficult relationship, or when the circumstances around us seem to be testing us to the maximum of our capacity to bear up, and we find ourselves being tempted to doubt that the Lord is good in the midst of it all, we must make it a point to stand firm and think on truth. We must believe what the Bible says about who God is and rest in His character. We must cling to what the Scripture says about us rather than believing our feelings or trusting the conclusions we may be drawing from our circumstances. And we must believe God’s promises, embrace them in hope, and rest in them. We must fix our minds on truth.

· Step One: Rejoice in the Lord—Always, Always, Always.

· Step Two: Entrust Your Trial—Give it All to Him with Thanksgiving.

· Step Three: Think on Truth—Believe God’s Word and Trust His Promises.