Trials

John 16:29-30 is a climax moment of faith for the disciples. Jesus is pouring out His heart and they are starting to get it! In a matter of hours, this new faith would be crushed as they watched Jesus be condemned to death. I can't imagine the grief or the questions they must have had between Friday and Sunday. Do you remember the poster of the kitty holding on to the knot at the end of the rope? When we go thru times of testing, sometimes all we can do is hang on to what we know for sure and look for that peace that surpasses understanding. The psalmist sheds some light on this: he says,"Before I was afflicted I went astray but now I obey Your word." V.67 "It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn Your decrees." V.71 He even says, "in faithfulness You have afflicted me." V.75 Sometimes it is difficult to remember that Jesus "has overcome the world"! John 16:33 and that "The Lord works out everything for His own ends."Prov.16:4. David's affliction was the result of his own doing but the Lord used it to shape David's life.- read Psalm 51.