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Getting through trials
I know that everyone has their own trials in life. I have some too. I am trying so hard not to question God. I have been praying and reading the bible for guidance. I have trouble trying not to question God why is this happening to me or if this is a punishment for mistakes I have done in the past.
My question is how do you deal with trials and always have faith in God without questioning him?
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Amanda on
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JB, I like what you said, except I don't quite understand "leave the sin consciousness behind." How is that possible without having a seared conscience? Will you elaborate? Thanks.
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If someone isn't walking in the righteousness that they have received from Christ Jesus, then feeling convicted of their sin is a good thing, isn't it?
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Thanks for answering. I agree that conviction and condemnation are often confused. So are punishment and discipline.
Anytime one is disobedient to God, Holy Spirit will convict them of the sin and with conviction there is guilt. Otherwise 1 John 1:9 makes no sense for why need to confess and receive cleansing if not guilty? The cleansing is like the foot washing that the disciples received from Jesus. He washed their feet and John 13 records: 10 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. NIV
We can be saved but still need a "foot washing" so to speak.
Recently I was studying the following passage:
“He passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished’” (Exodus 34:6,7).
I thought it sounded like a contradiction --what could that possibly mean? Forgiving sin and punishing the guilty? Receiving forgiveness but still being punished for being guilty?
Our sin does have guilt and there is punishment for sin. Jesus took our punishment for us if we know Him as Lord and Savior. So the guilt is transferred from us to Christ. For those not in Him, they stand under judgment and will be punished according to their guilt.
Jesus took our punishment for us, so then, although guilty we go unpunished, as far as going to hell. Yet, there is divine discipline in this life, too, according to Hebrews 12:4-13, and it can be a great hardship. It's a form of training us. It says in verse 10, God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. Holiness matters to God, and I'm not saying you believe otherwise. It just seems to me though that when someone is going through trials, they might be experiencing God's discipline, and perhaps what needs to change is just the person's perspective about punishment versus discipline from God. God disciplines His children to train them in righteousness and help them mature, not to inflict penalty for an offense, which would be punishment.
Knowing this difference (now that I know it) helps me to persevere in faith in God. I can't say I don't ever question God or that I always deal effectively with trials. I'm still being trained, I guess, and not mature enough yet. :)
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PS That truth just recently clicked for me -- the difference between punishment and discipline. I finally got it. It's not only true with God, but also with the way we discipline or punish our children. It matters how we treat our children when they disobey and we are to imitate God.
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Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. Galatians 5:16, KJB.
Our spirits are born again and I agree that our spirits aren't guilty of committing sin. There is a great battle between the Spirit and our flesh (Holy Spirit dwells within us -- our body is His temple) and most of it takes place in the mind that needs renewing.
Romans 12, ESV:
zI appeal to you therefore, brothers,1 by the mercies of God, ato present your bodies bas a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.2 2 cDo not be conformed to this world,3 but be transformed by dthe renewal of your mind, that by testing you may ediscern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.4 http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Rom.12.1-2
The mind is part of the soul. We sin in thoughts, words, and actions. As you know we are tri-part beings, spirit, soul, and body. The word confess simply means to admit or state that one has committed a crime or is at fault in some way, or to declare. Here's a dictionary link http://i.word.com/idictionary/confess
1 John 1:9 is an important verse in the Word that can't be explained away, nor can any of the verses in the Bible about sin. Here is a list of 70 of those verses http://dailyverses.net/sin
Our guilt as His born again children will never result in being sent to Hell because Jesus paid the penalty for us, received our punishment for us.
Yet, God disciplines us when we sin as a loving Father Who corrects His children, to train us for maturity. That's the purpose of correcting us for sinning after we've been born again. Our spirits must mature. Our minds must be renewed. Our bodies await their resurrection. God isn't finished with us. The focus of God's discipline isn't our past sins. Discipline is focused on how to choose correct acts today and from now on. There's no hostility or frustration on God's part when correcting His children. We mess up. Missing the mark means sinning. If you miss the mark, JB, then you sin. You can try to dress up the wording of it but it doesn't change the meaning, like me saying I'm not a housekeeper but a domestic specialist, or something. :)
When one sins, one is guilty of committing sin. I agree that the new born spirit doesn't sin and doesn't want anything to do with sin.
Charles Stanley understands God's discipline in my POV. -
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Permalink Reply by Seek on
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I like one definition of conviction given in Merriam Webster:
a: the act of convincing a person of error or of compelling the admission of a truth
b :the state of being convinced of error or compelled to admit the truth
We have debates all the time where it is the duty of each opponent to convince the other of their stance. The other party doesn't feel guilty for believing what they do or for changing their belief if they are convinced by the other party.
I read somewhere else that vague feelings of guilt without being able to put your finger on why you feel guilty, is condemnation.
I also read a devotion once that I kept a copy of. It said that if you are speeding you have a sense of guilt and you look around to watch for cops. By not speeding, you don't have any guilt. That's the same way to get freedom from God.
But I'd put them together and say God works to convince us of wrong doing but satan seeks to make us feel guilty if we mess up at any point. -
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Permalink Reply by Mary O on
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We all make mistakes. We don't accept God and stop making mistakes. Why question God? Why not take your questions to God? There are principles in the Bible. It takes time to align your life with God's Word, and then we still make mistakes. We just get better and make less mistakes. Have you read Romans? Nothing can separate you from God's love. People don't change overnight. When you mess up, you say God, I'm sorry and set about to change what it was you did. Depends on the change, but it's not always easy. Change takes a conscious effort and work. I look up Bible verses about what I want to change. I ask God to show me what I need to change. You have to mean it when you say that because He will say something to you and show you. Oh yeah. That little voice bugs me and won't stop. I'm like...Okay, I get it. I'm sorry. God's doesn't like to hang around uselessly flapping His gums so to speak. When I come to my senses. I always say I'm sorry especially if I ignored Him. We all have those moments. We're not perfect.
Love and God bless,
Mary
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