All of God's people in this
world will be required to pass through many trials. All of God's pilgrims must
pass through the deep waters, the rough way, the stormy hour, the dark night,
and fiery furnace on their road to glory. The Lord says concerning both you and
me, "I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction."
But, how do our trials effect
us, how do we respond to them? I am afraid that far too often our trials
produce in us feelings and emotions contrary to the faith we profess: worry,
fear, discontentment, and fretfulness. This is a great evil. It is dishonoring
to the Lord our God. To murmur and complain about the affairs of our lives is
to murmur and complain about our heavenly Father's care of us. How can we be so
shamefully ungrateful? May the Lord give us grace to respond to his good
providence in submission, faith, and thanksgiving at all times.