In Touch - May 10, 2006

In Touch Daily Devotional 
by Dr. Charles Stanley

Wednesday May 10, 2006

Faith on Trial

1 Peter 4:12-19

Some days we feel as if our faith is on trial and Satan is running a cross-examination that challenges our confidence in God. But the only important question is this: Are you going to believe what the Lord says, no matter what He allows into your life?

The heavenly Father always has a purpose for testing believers’ faith. He stretches us so that we will have a greater capacity to serve Him. Though we may sometimes feel we are at our limit, the process actually occurs gently, like stretching a new rubber band a little at a time. With each extension, we are able to accomplish more for His glory.

It is often easy to trust God for certain things more than others, but He desires our complete dependence, regardless of the situation. That is why He will test His children in the same area repeatedly until they can successfully bear up under the pressure. Afterward, they will be able to testify to non-Christians about what the Bible says and also about their own experience of divine help in dark valleys.

We will taste both success and failure as our faith is in the process of growing. The disciple Peter had a share of both. But each time the Lord stretched him, his capacity for service became greater. In the book of Acts, it is Peter who fearlessly preaches at Pentecost and also heals a lame man without a shred of doubt (Acts 2:14-36; Acts 3:1-7).

Our faith will be put on trial. If we are wise believers, we will respond by trusting God to stretch and develop our conviction until we are the men and women

He desires us to be.

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