New Believers Bible - Flipbook - Page 117
FIRST STEPS
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A44
3. What Happens When You Give? When you give with the right motives,
you will experience joy and God’s generous blessings (see 2 Corinthians 9:614, page 1055).
4. How Should You View Material Wealth? Accumulating wealth should
never be a high priority because it is eternally worthless (see Matthew 6:1934, page 845).
5. Can You Enjoy Wealth? God may bless you materially, but you are
responsible for using your material blessings wisely (see 1 Timothy 6:17-19,
page 1097).
Many Christians have the mistaken idea that once they make a commitment to
Jesus Christ, life will be smooth sailing from that day forward. This is certainly
not the case. While it is true that walking with Christ will help us avoid many of
the problems we used to face, we are still going to experience what the Bible
calls “trials.”
Trials may come in the form of a crisis, a sudden illness, the loss of a loved
one, or some drastic change in your life. You may go through a difficult time
when you don’t feel God’s presence, when church may not be as exciting as it
once was for you, or your prayers seem to go no higher than the ceiling. This
may cause you to wonder if you have angered God or if he has left you. But God
does not allow us to experience trials because he wants to see us suffer. Rather,
he allows these difficulties into our lives to help us grow spiritually—to learn to
live by faith, not by feelings. Look up the following passages to see the role trials play in our lives. Notice also God’s promise to be with us during these times
of trouble.
1. Trials Sharpen Our Faith. Hardships develop our character and purify
our faith (see 1 Peter 1:3-7, page 1133).
2. Trials Help Us Comfort Others. Experiencing suffering deepens our
compassion for others who suffer (see 2 Corinthians 1:3-7, page 1047).
3. Trials Are Survivable. We must keep our eternal perspective through the
tough times (see 2 Corinthians 4:7-18, page 1049).
4. Trials Test Our Foundation. When we ground our lives in Christ, we can
weather any storm (see Luke 6:48-49, page 909).
5. Jesus Is with Us in Life’s Storms. We are never outside of God’s watchful
eye and his abiding presence (see Mark 4:35-41, page 879).
6. God Gives Hope to Our Troubled Hearts. We can have peace of mind in
the middle of our greatest trials (see John 14:1-4, page 953).
