Being familiar with the Word of God is essential for spiritual stability. True stability is not determined by our circumstances but by the attitude we have as we go through them. When trials, tribulations, and hardships come, we must ask ourselves: What are our thoughts concerning God?
The Apostle Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown into the inner prison, their feet fastened in stocks, simply for preaching the gospel. Yet notice their response to this injustice: “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.” They were not rejoicing in their circumstances but in their God, who controls all circumstances.
In the book of Job, we see a man who lost everything—his livestock, servants, wealth, children, and finally his health. Job endured unimaginable suffering. He cursed the day of his birth and wished for death rather than to continue in his pain. The trials and tribulations of life are real, often excruciating, but the knowledge of the living God gives hope and comfort in the midst of the fiery trials of life.
Even in his suffering, Job acknowledged, “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” When his health was gone and his wife urged him to “curse God and die,” Job replied, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” Scripture tells us, “In all this Job did not sin with his lips.” Job understood that ultimately, all things come from the hand of God.
There are trials common to all people—death of loved ones, sickness, the loss of a job, and other hardships. Sometimes our troubles are self-inflicted through poor choices. Yet, for the saints of God, trials serve a divine purpose: to test the genuineness of our faith—“more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire”—so that it “may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:7).
When we have an understanding of who God is, as He is revealed in Scripture, we gain stability in the circumstances of life. We come to know that God is sovereignly in control, working all things for our good and His glory. Biblical ignorance destroys stability; therefore, Christians must be diligent to read their Bibles and grow in the grace and knowledge of God.
Romans 8:28 reminds us, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” This is an easy verse to quote, but a hard one to live in times of severe trial. Yet it remains true—always.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Greg Flannery is a Bible Teacher at Redeemer Church of Piketon, Ohio.
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