Ideally, the monarchic and majestic love of God should be our very force to reckon with when we are on our race to the finishing point of life on earth.

We take it for granted that if we stick to the spiritual norms of Christianity, and lead a life of piousness, our time on earth would be one of happiness, success and bloom. All sufferings and frustrations belong to “others’’ as we perceive.

When life is rosy and ripe, who thinks about the proverbial ‘crown of thorns’?

As long as it is a smooth sailing, and the paths are clearly demarcated, we confidently reaffirm, “I trust in God, I trust in His sovereign love.”

Despite all these convictions that we have about God’s love, when the rubber meets the road, do we ‘trust’ Him completely and be on an even kneel? Or do we play the devil’s advocate?

Therefore, before we paint our faith in broad, vibrant strokes, let us make a fair assessment of facts and draw up a denouement that could nevertheless be shocking, even for firm believers. We are all on the brink of a total faith crisis; the world and its people!

Having Faith During a Crisis

Wouldn’t it have been so easy if God could warn us of the trials that await us in future?

Unfortunately, God never prepares us for the sufferings that we are to encounter. God wills us to walk in faith and not by sight.Walking by sight would make us prepared for the struggle, but not prepared for God’s kingdom.

It is only through these unexpected crises in our lives, that we are pruned and perfected for adorning the throne of God. Trials test our faith and integrity towards the Almighty. They cleanse and refine our souls, and brace us up for greater glory in heaven.

Not all of us are resilient enough to stick to the will of God,when catastrophe strikes. Many of us question God at this point, fall into negative emotions, and eventually fall out of faith. To trust God completely during such crises, and accept His will, believing that He means well, is the prerogative of only a select few.

Proverbs 3:5-6-Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Trials Prepare us to trust God completely

When God tells us that He has carved us in the palms of His hand, He is revealing to us that He knows every thought that goes on in our mind and every deed that we secretly commit.

We are His sheep who are ever scuttling after greener pastures. The everlasting love of our Father in Heaven somehow wills us to go back to His protective arms in order that we may not lose our souls to the evil one.

How best can He help us run back to Him?

Through trials and tribulations!

God gives a major jolt to our conscience by sending afflictions and trials through our path. He is perfectly tuned towards our temperament and knows exactly what kind of environment can temper our souls and purify it for His acceptance.

By hardships and trials, we are freed from our deficiencies and tainted dispositions. We invariably see the straight, but laborious path, and shift our gaze back upon the glory of God.

This is why it is very important to hold our ground and not fall apart when trials strike. God’s intentions are pure when we go through these testing times. He is preparing us to be in line with His holy will.

2 Esdras 16:73-Then the tested quality of my elect  shall be manifest, like gold that is tested by fire.

How to stand the test of faith

To turn your thoughts completely to God when we are faced with the worst trials and tribulations, does not come easy even for a true believer. Remember that God does not promise us perfect lives. However, He goes that extra mile, and promises to move heaven and earth for us, if only we co-operate with his plans.

Tuning in completely to God comes with staunch resistance and inflexibility in matters of faith. Our belief system must be firm and unwavering to surrender to the will of God. Our prayer life must be consistent and perfect, and our demeanour should be one of complete surrender and holiness.

The road to heaven is always replete with thorns and weeds.

So how do we escape the thorns that throng us, and prevent the weeds from overpowering the harvest?

Let’s look at some simple ways to stand the test of faith: –

• Pray unceasingly for strength and firmness in faith!
• We must believe that our God sees the bigger picture and knows what is good for us.
• Do trust in his words – “and remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
• Please surrender your sufferings and trials completely to God.
• Trust Him with unfaltering devotion even when you are on the verge of death.

The belief that God knows us well and will not test us beyond our capacity will give us a lot of strength to tide through our struggles and perfect the art of restraint. Once we master the art of surrendering completely to the will of God, we no longer complain about anything in life. We stop applying our own reasoning and do not question God. This is when we attain perfect union with God’s plan in our life.

Proverbs 17:3- The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
but the Lord tests the heart.

How God perfected the Faith of Abraham and Moses

In Genesis, we read about Abraham who was blessed with a son when he turned a century old. We earthly beings would have laughed at the prospect of having an offspring at his age, and would have even been prone to distrust God’s words and intentions.Not only did Abraham have steadfast faith in the Almighty, but he also comes across as the paradigm of faith by completely trusting in God’s will amidst testing waters.

Abraham’s response to God’s calling,“Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”, sums up his total surrender to the Lord Almighty.

His complete trust in the Lord is demonstrated by his answer to Isaac when he asked,

“The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”  Abraham said, “God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.”(Genesis22:7-8)

When God asked Abraham to offer his only son Isaac as a sacrifice, Abraham trusted Him absolutely and offered Isaac in all his sincerity. Abraham was abundantly blessed by God so that his offspring were numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. By his offspring, the nations of the earth gained blessings for themselves because he has obeyed God’s voice.

Do we trust God completely?

When things turn ugly and turbulent, do we hold on to this certitude of ‘true faith’, and continue our praises and worship?

Many of us are living in a false sense of ‘ecstatic trust’ when life is kind to us. We fast, we pray, we willingly and generously help others, we acknowledge God at all times.

But are we accustomed to do the same if we are faced with trials, and God does not respond to our prayers? Can we boldly respond “Lord, Here I am”, when he calls?

My dear brothers and sisters, if we are able to respond to God with zeal and vigour, even when we are going through the hardest struggles in life, we can sum up that we are living a majestic life!

But things are not so hunky-dory as such. Many of us blame God for our sufferings. We rebuke Him for not listening to our prayers. We even abandon Him by boycotting our Christian beliefs and trust. We are a disappointed lot, totally disheartened and panicky when tragedy strikes. The very belief system that we exalted, and should have come to our rescue here is strangely rejected and thrown in the dump yard.

We misunderstand our Father in Heaven and leave His protective arms. This isn’t true faith. It is only a superficial faith based on comfort and convenience. Once the golden bubble is broken, our trust crumbles and dissipates into air.

At this point, it would be worthwhile to turn our eyes to Moses to see how he remained faithful and steadfast without complaining, even when he went through 40 years of trials. Moses was not very convinced about his skills in speech. However, his trust and devotion in God were much greater than his low self-confidence, and this prompted him to go with the divine flow. Moses’ trust was simple, pure and true.He prostrated before the Almighty, prayed fervently, offered sacrifices, pleaded for his people, and leads them to glory with all earnestness.

He believed in His God, even when he could not see or understand what lay ahead of him.

Did he not know what he was getting into? He knew!

But his trust and obedience in God were much greater than his sense of doubt and fear. Ultimately,even when he was denied the chance to enter the chosen kingdom, despite all his struggles and sacrifices, he remained true to his faith.

Can we endure multitudes of trials and sufferings and still come out as ever faithful to God like Moses or Abraham?

If we can stick to God despite enduring tremendous, heart wrenching trials, God’s work in our lives is complete.

As Lord Jesus tells us: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37).

Let us trust God completely so that we become more like our Heavenly Mother who proclaimed without a doubt in her heart, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”

Amen