What Do Trials Teach About Abiding in Christ?

What is “abiding in Christ”?

Abide means to remain; continue; stay. (Dictionary.com) In other words, to connect with Jesus Christ continually. Listen to Him, talk to Him, live with Him.

John 15:5 NIV “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”  

Jesus Christ is your source, the vine; you are the branches. You gain your strength from Him so you can follow His path. Unless you are abiding in Him, you aren’t able to bear fruit.

How do you abide in Christ?

1 John 3:24 ESV “Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.”

When you are doing God’s will, you are abiding in Jesus Christ. You can know He abides in you because the Holy Spirit lives inside of you.

The question of this post is: “What Do Trials Teach About Abiding in Christ?” Going through trials reveals lessons about abiding in Christ. Here are some of the lessons:

• You Will Have Trials
• Trials Don’t Separate You from Jesus Christ Love
• God Comforts in Trials
• You Need Patience in Trials
• Do Not Lose Heart in Trials
• Trials Teach You to Persevere
• Keep a Grateful Heart in Trials
• God’s Grace is Sufficient in Trials
• Conclusion

You Will Have Trials

John 16:33 NIV “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Jesus never promised you would not have trouble. He had plenty, so why would you not also have problems?

His instructions to the disciples were that they would have peace through their trials when they relied on Him. His encouragement, “But take heart! I have overcome the world.” If he did, you can also, as you abide in Him.

Going through difficult situations is hard to deal with. Your emotions are on alert already, the stress and strain only heighten them.

The way to gain relief is to give it to the Lord. He will exchange strained emotions with His peace.

Do you need to do that now? He is waiting.

Trials Don’t Separate You from Jesus Christ’s Love

Romans 8:35-39 NIV “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

‘For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’

 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

There are times in your trials when you feel God is not there. Where is He? Doesn’t He love me anymore?

Truth is, He never leaves you and He always loves you. His love is unconditional, regardless of what you do or don’t do.

The Lord speaks to you through the words of Paul in the verses above. He went through terrific suffering yet stayed faithful to Jesus throughout his Christian life.

What is his witness? That Jesus does not quit loving you no matter what, and trials are at the top of his list.

Do you feel God is distant as you suffer? He’s as close as He can be-remember, He lives inside you as you abide in Him. Don’t let Satan rob you of your confidence.

God Comforts in Trials

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NIV “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”

Again, you see the testimony of Paul in the Scripture above. He has seen the compassion and comfort of God in his life. It’s present in all trouble.

Have you had trouble thinking God is not comforting? That’s a human frailty–one we all experience. When your heart tells you this, know it’s not true. Go to the Lord and ask Him to show His comfort, and He will.

The Lord gives us another gift in His comfort—the ability to reach out and help others who are experiencing the same pain. Use your gift.

We Need Patience in Trials

Romans 12:12 NIV “ Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”

Paul is talking here about the attitudes of Christians in their service for Jesus Christ. as they abide in Him.

My long ago pastor’s wife, Mrs. Dark, was a wonderful Christian woman. She was my teacher and mentor for many years.

In her teachings, when the word patience appeared, she always prefaced it with, “Be careful about asking for more patience, God will give you the trials to strengthen your faith.”

When you are going through trials, patience is a fruit of the Spirit that you need to help strengthen you. You need His patience. The trials will help build your faith as you abide in Him.

Do Not Lose Heart in Trials

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Trials can drag us down. Don’t let it. Paul says that what He was going through is nothing compared to His Heavenly home. Troubles are momentary compared to your reward in Heaven.

How do you do that? The last part of the verse above tells you. Don’t look at the world and its troubles; instead, focus on God and His eternal promises.

You are spiritually being renewed day by day. Are you experiencing that? Do you have a daily time with God in prayer and His Word?

Just decide on a time you can spend with the Lord. The quality of the time is more important than how long you do it. Begin by reading a small passage and focus on what God is saying.

Trials Teach You to Persevere

James 1:2-4 NIV “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

Yes, he is saying to have joy in trials. He doesn’t mean to enjoy the pain. Realize that through trials, your faith is tested, and this process produces the ability to stay the course. Persevering helps you grow spiritually.

Growing spiritually is the goal of Christians. As you grow, your relationship with Jesus Christ becomes closer and stronger. Here is your joy!

Are you thinking that trials have a benefit? Try having this attitude in your problems, it will help the situation as you abide in Him.

Keep a Grateful Heart in Trials

1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 NIV “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Here is a comment about being thankful in trials:

“Also, we don’t need to feel thankful before we give thanks. When God takes us through hard trials, we don’t feel thankful. But by faith we can say, “Lord, I trust that You are good and that You know what You’re doing in this difficult situation. I submit to Your sovereign hand and purpose, knowing that You will work it together for my good.” So, like rejoicing always, giving thanks in everything is often a choice to believe God in difficult circumstances.” Bible.org

The focus in this comment is not that you have to FEEL thankful for trials, but being grateful to God because He knows what is best.

Cultivating a grateful heart can only benefit your life and those around you. The more you allow God to build your heart in gratefulness, the easier it becomes to be thankful in all circumstances.

What can you be thankful for? That God gives you His supernatural strength, peace, and joy through the experience.

God’s Grace is Sufficient in Trials

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 NIV “or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Paul’s thorn in the flesh is not known. He asked the Lord to remove it, but the Lord promised Paul that he would manage it through His grace.

Grace is God’s unmerited favor. This gift is also yours in Jesus Christ. When God chooses not to remove the obstacle, He doesn’t leave you alone and helpless. His resources are there to help get you through.

If you are having trouble getting through a difficult situation, go to the Lord in prayer and ask for His relief and joy.

Remember, God’s resources are not like ours. Everything begins with the Lord, so His help is supernatural.

Conclusion

When you are abiding in Christ, living for Him according to His will, you learn some valuable lessons from trials.

• You are not exempt from trials.
• The Lord is there for you and loves you.
• Jesus gives you comfort in trials.
• Patience is needed in trials.
• Do not lose heart in trials.
• Trials produce perseverance.
• Keep a grateful heart in trials.
• God’s grace is sufficient.

If you are going through trials now and having problems overcoming them, are you praying and reading God’s Word for encouragement?

Everyone is busy, but once you have established a daily time with the Lord, it will become a habit. You will be surprised when you skip one, how eager you will be to get back to God’s Word. The Word of God is powerful and works to give us what we need in Jesus Christ.

Bible Study Questions:

Bible Verse:  Romans 8:35 NIV “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?”

Questions

• When you are suffering in trials, are you quick to think God doesn’t love you?
• What does this scripture tell you about Jesus Christ’s love?
• What does “God’s love is unconditional” mean?
• Read Romans 8:28. Do you think God’s best for you is limited in trials?

Sometimes we need to talk to someone. You could go to your pastor or a trusted friend for help. If you have questions, please leave a comment. I’ll be happy to help.