Why Does God Allow Trials In Our Lives?

Why does God allow trials in our lives?

John 12:24-25

Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone: but if it die, it bring forth much fruit.

25. He that love his life shall lose it; and he that hates his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

Introduction:

Chippie the parakeet never saw it coming. One second he was peacefully perched in his cage. The next he was sucked in, washed up, and blown over.

The problems began when Chippie’s owner decided to clean Chippie’s cage with a vacuum cleaner. She removed the attachment from the end of the hose and stuck it in the cage. The phone rang, and she turned to pick it up. She’d barely said "hello" when "ssssopp!" Chippie got sucked in. The bird owner gasped, put down the phone, turned off the vacuum, and opened the bag. There was Chippie -- still alive, but stunned.

Since the bird was covered with dust and soot, she grabbed him and raced to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and held Chippie under the running water. Then, realizing that Chippie was soaked and shivering, she did what any compassionate bird owner would do . . . she reached for the hair dryer and blasted the pet with hot air.

Poor Chippie never knew what hit him. A few days after the trauma, the reporter who’d initially written about the event contacted Chippie’s owner to see how the bird was recovering. "Well," she replied, "Chippie doesn’t sing much anymore -- he just sits and stares."

It’s hard not to see why. Sucked in, washed up, and blown over . . . That’s enough to steal the song from the stoutest heart.

Can I ask you a question this morning?

Do you still have a song in your heart?

Application:

You see there is one of two things you can do when trials, tests or tribulation comes your way:

1. You can become bitter -- Like Chippie

· So easy to do – it is our natural way of handling problems

· Even as Christians we are full of ourselves and especially during trails in our lives.

· This is when your fears, hurts and negative thoughts mull over and over in your mind, you’re constantly thinking of it and in the same time you looses God’s love.

· There is no longer a song in your heart.

· Measured by worldly standards your feelings might be justified but it is not by God’s standards.

Heb 12:14-15 Follow peace with all [men], and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble [you], and thereby many be defiled;

Or you can choose to:

2. Absolutely delight you in the Lord and knows that He is in charge of your

Life.

· You can keep your song in your heart even when the going gets tuf!

· This was Paul and Silas choice when they we’re in the Jail.

· The word say that they were singing!

· They were only doing what the following scriptures are saying:

James1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;

3. Knowing [this], that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

Look at v3. trying of your faith

James is saying here that our faith is tested.

This answers the questions:

· But why is this happening to me?

· Why do bad things happen to good people?

All tests of our faith:

Case Study One

Believe we find some answers in Deut 8:2-3

And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, [and] to prove thee, to know what [was] in thine heart, whether thou would keep his commandments, or no.

3. And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knew not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every [word] that proceed out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.

Two things we learn here:

Trial time -- wilderness – they were in dessert, lonely place.

Have you noticed that if you’re in a trail how people tent to leave you?

alone.

Why would a loving God allow the Israelites to dwell 40 years in the

dessert.

1. To humble thee:

No thing in life that make a person so humble than trials.

When realise that you can’t do it on your own, need the Lord.

Israelites wouldn’t have made it without the Lord.

2. To prove thee, to know what was in thine heart.