"But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” Job 23:10
Trials- no one I know is begging for one, but they seem to be the one thing that cause us to draw close to the Lord. They humble us. They can be big or small; but if they are happening to us, they always seem big-- at least at the moment. However, the blessing of a trial is that we tend to remember our weakness during those tougher times and experience God’s presence and strength in a mighty way.
“And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.” 2 Corinthians 12:7
Could Paul’s thorn in the flesh have been a rebellious two year old? Kidding, but there is nothing like your two year old, who knows better, throwing a tantrum in the store to keep you from being “exalted above measure.”
I am reminiscing about the days when my guys were little. We were in TJ Maxx just enjoying an outing (you know something you don’t have to do but want to so you can see real, grown up people and relieve the cabin fever) when Levi suddenly decided he didn’t want to stay in the cart.
Noah was not even a year old yet and was also in the cart so I decided to let Levi walk beside me. He was two and seeming so mature as his sweet little hand held mine. But then… without a moment’s warning…he quickly decided he would make the rules and started to walk away. When I told him he was going to have to get in the cart since he wasn’t staying close to me, he promptly threw himself down on the floor in the middle of the store and started kicking and screaming.
WHAAAT?! I got hot all over. How… embarrassing, maddening… how? Just how did I give birth to a little tyrant???
I had pledged my kids would NEVER act like that. I scorned parents who had kids who did that. But, here I was with my sweet, little trial.. I mean child. Quickly, I whisked him away to the car (and Noah too). I let Levi know we were going to deal with this and then go back into the store and show those people he did know how to obey. I’ll be honest. I was humiliated. I was like those parents the Bible talks about in Hebrews. “For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.” Hebrews 12:10
Sure, Levi learned a valuable lesson that day, but I also learned a lesson- compliments of Levi.
Sometimes our trials are in the form of “child training” by our loving Heavenly Father, but He is not imperfect like me. He ALWAYS chastens (disciplines) for OUR profit.
As I reflected later, I believe God used that experience that day to:
1. Humble me
2. Give me compassion for other parents/children
3. Reveal a truth in God’s Word
The bottom line is, no matter what season of life we are in, God allows trials (big or small) to make us more valuable for His kingdom work to be advanced.
Never again have I judged a child’s tantrum in a store. Who knows, maybe they are normally good. Maybe this is their day to learn a life long lesson, or maybe it’s their parent’s. Grace.
Trials part part two coming soon…
