RESPONSES TO TRIAL

A “trial” is a test, usually over a limited period of time, of the qualities or suitability of someone. Gold, a precious metal is refined as it goes through the fire. The fire removes dirt and unwanted particles from gold.

Our lives are like gold, tried in the fire of difficulties. 

How we respond to the trials determine if we shall come out as pure gold. There are three people in the Bible who offer us examples of the different kinds of responses to God appointed difficulties:

King Saul’s Trial

King Saul was the first king of Israel and he had to fight against the Philistines’ army. In 1 Samuel 13, their enemy was far greater than they were. King Saul had 3,000 men while the Philistines had 30,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen and people as many as the sand.

As a result, fear swept through the men of King Saul. In 1 Samuel 13:7-8 it says, “…all the people who followed him were trembling, and the rest were scattered…” On top of this, the man of God, prophet Samuel delayed in his coming. Samuel promised to show up in seven days but he did not arrive at the appointed time.

King Saul’s Response – Take Matters into One’s Own Hands

As a result, King Saul went ahead to offer a burnt offering to the Lord to make supplication to God. However, this was not the function of kings but of the priests. When Samuel finally showed up, he rebuked Saul for disobeying God.

In Saul’s case, he panicked because of what he “saw”. He was affected by the fear around him. How do we respond in an atmosphere of fear? Discouragement and fear are like diseases. They are contagious.

Learnings from King Saul’s Trial

Our eyes are open doors through which suggestions and ideas flow through the mind and if we meditate on these long enough, they produce actions. Let us have our eyes kept on the Word of God because Jesus is our hope. Because he judged the situation by what he saw, Saul stopped waiting on God and took the matter into his own hands. A trial is not a justification for us to go our own way.

Trials are hard and they may go from worse to worst. A human tendency is to rush to find a solution for our trials. The problem is that we set our own timeframe on when God should show up. God has His own timing for everything. One thing is for sure, He is never late in saving us from our difficulties. He is always on time.

In trials, we must learn to wait and obey. 

Refusing to wait and disobeying God disqualified King Saul from having his kingdom established. God deserves our obedience even in trials. God is going to take care of our difficulty. All He asks for is our trust and obedience.

King Hezekiah’s Trial

In the time of King Hezekiah in 2 Kings 18, Assyrian King Sennacherib threatened to conquer Judah (South of Israel). Northern Israel was already taken captive by Assyria. The people of Judah were in fear.

King Hezekiah’s Response – Trust in Worldly Help

To protect itself, Judah under King Hezekiah sought the help of Egypt and Ethiopia. Instead of asking God for help, they went to the world for their rescue.

Learnings from King Hezekiah’s Trial

In our trials, do we put our trust in the world or God? Man can react to a trial by taking counsel without God and making plans of his own. Judah looked to Egypt, their former task masters, rather than to the God who saved Israel and destroyed Egypt.

Egypt represents our old sinful ways. When in a trial, there is a vulnerability to resort to worldly ways without consulting God. Judah refused the counsel of God. In times of trouble or need, we must turn to God for counsel and we must be ready to receive what He says, whether it pleases us or not.

God had to hold back deliverance and salvation because Judah rejected His counsel. This was God’s counsel to them, Isaiah 30:15 says, “In returning and rest you shall be saved…” God was saying, rest and have faith in Him. But the people did not want to hold on to faith but to something practical and tangible.

When we put our trust in earthly strength, we will see our trials overtake us. Problems will overcome that strength we are trusting in. Fear will increase further.

Often, the key to our trials, is the same, to rest in God and be still.

As a result, God said to them in Isaiah 30:18 “Therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious to you;
And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him.”

The amazing thing here is that His mercy is really unfathomable that He is willing to wait to show graciousness to His people. But those who will experience this blessing are those who will wait on Him. God will hear the cry of the people and guide and lead them through their trial.

Hannah’s Trial

Elkanah had two wives. One is Hannah and the other is Peninah. For years, Hannah did not bear children while Peninah gave birth to sons and daughters. However, Elkanah loved Hannah and showed her favor. Thus, Peninah, the other wife provoked Hannah. Hannah had to struggle for many years.

When we are in a trial, we will experience provocation from our enemy, Satan. He can torment us with words of discouragement and doubt.

Hannah’s Response – Trust in God

Hannah, a once barren woman relied and trusted in God. Hannah had a right attitude towards God and she was not offended with God while waiting for God’s answers.

Learnings from Her Trial

In her pain, Hannah went to the temple to pray to God. She ran to God in her difficulties. God honored her because she laid down her pain and need before God. Elkanah her husband tried to console her but she knew that only God can satisfy and deal with her pain. She went before God and asked for a son and she was full of hope even in her difficulty.

Delays built up in her a desperation for God. 

How do we respond to delays? Do we fret? Do we get offended or hopeless? Delay produced a cry in Hannah that will not stop until her prayers were answered. It was her unrelenting prayer that drew her closer to God. The Lord heard her and she met with God and found favor in Him. The following year she received Samuel.

In closing, of all the three of them, Hannah had the most beautiful response. She came out of the trial like pure gold because in her difficulty, she put her trust in God. She displayed humility, brokenness, and desperation to see God’s hand move.

Hannah produced Samuel, the last judge of Israel and she transferred the quality of her spirit to him. Hannah was no queen. She was an ordinary woman who impacted a nation through her offspring all because she had the right response to trials.

Trust in God and a persistence in prayer truly moves the hand of God. Let us excel in our response to trials.


Works Cited
The Holy Bible, New King James Version. Bible Gateway. Web. 9 May 2017. www.biblegateway.com
Oxford Dictionaries. Web. 9 May 2017. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/trial