He had been so steeped in sin; well, that’s what he thought of himself and his friends concur. He could never change. The worldly lifestyle was his thrill and giving it up was unimaginable. The girls, the drinks, parties and more; that was his life. After all, he was young and it was his life to live. But God had other plans! God choose a new direction for his life-a direction that led to a total change of both the inner and outer man.

The Holy Spirit quickens us to live for Christ. Abiding in Christ is allowing His words to be our sword, and faith our shield. As our consciences are activated, and we now see sin as it really is; in faith, we can reach out to Jesus to rescue us from the evil of sin, its power and its woe. There comes a time in one’s life when enough is enough, whatever it may be, the limit has been reached. You’ve had enough. It’s the same with sinning.

The trials and testing of God’s children can be termed as gold tried in the fire. Persecution and trials are prerequisites on our journey to the Kingdom. We cannot get around it; we cannot pass over or under it. We must face it. Trials are not negative. They are means of drawing us closer to the King and His Kingdom. They serve to deepen our dependence, faith and trust in God as we rely on Him for everything. They serve to strip away the unpleasant and unnecessary baggage that would only hinder us on our journey. Trials are positive markers that He’s still working on us, to make us what we ought to be!

The fact that we are called upon to endure trial shows that the Lord Jesus sees in us something precious which He desires to develop. If He saw in us nothing whereby He might glorify His name, He would not spend time in refining us. He does not cast worthless stones into His furnace. It is valuable ore that He refines.

The School of Life brings continuous testing, one after another – well that’s how it seems to me. We are bombarded with one challenge after another with very little time, if any, to ‘party’ in between. Amazingly, the experiences are quite similar for those on the ‘narrow path’. God permits trials. You are not alone. Praise God in your trials.

Humility is not one of my strong qualities. So, it is quite humbling when the Holy Spirit tempers my desire to exalt myself. I had an experience where I was in the right and I just wanted to defend myself and expose the offending party. With anger in my heart and fire raging in my eyes, I was prepared to step forward and beat my chest like the Pharisee, defending my right! But then, the Holy Spirit spoke and said, “Hold your peace and do not let your attitude or your voice betray how you feel”.

Queen Esther could’ve kept quite and save herself (maybe); but that would do no good. She was placed in a position of trust, influence and power. She had to do something, even if it cost her life! Praise be to God, who giveth us the victory. Victory was hers. She took the risk and victory was hers and her people!

The Bible is filled with experiences of persons that could easily be grouped into either garlic perfume or a sweet-smelling perfume. Can you think of some examples? All life experiences do leave a lesson about Christ, good or bad. What lesson was taught from Job’s experience? What about Judas? Can you recall a time in your life when your victory in your testing turns out to be a testimony for Christ?

Trials are not all bad. You can profit from it. Just like risks – proper management can turn them into opportunities - the same is true for trials. Successfully overcoming your trials does produce a Fruit of the Spirit in your life. There are various levels of trails, and each level gets more challenging. If you fail any level, you will have to retake it until you’ve passed. You cannot get to the next level until you’ve successfully passed the previous one.

Just as in Daniel’s experience, the “Prince of Persia” sometimes delayed the answer to our prayers. But Michael will come to our rescue. I just paused this morning to tell you that your weeping is just for the “night”. God isn’t sleeping. He will deliver. Whatever your struggles – hold on! Just as a day consist of a dark part and a light part, our light will come. Just as the sunshine comes after the rain, The Son of righteousness will shine on you – just hold on!