Many times in our walk with God, we tend to go through a period of darkness, a period of testing, a wilderness experience; there is a time in every believer’s life when he walks through the phase of the unknown, when his soul is wearied to an extent that he starts questioning the very plan of God for his life. It is called the ‘downtime’; when trails hit the face of our faith, our hope starts shaking; many of us start questioning God’s promises, few of us even tend to believe that the promises are far forgotten and there is no help for us in the Lord.

It is in such times that, the devil plays his biggest play against us; whispering into our ears all his lies, making us yield to his tactics.  But, even in such times, we must believe that our Lord is faithful to us, only a little knowledge of His ways would reveal to us the mystery behind His silence. It is very natural for us to question God, why such a thing is allowed in our life; Is it a temptation of the devil or a test of God; Is it our own sin leading us to suffer or is it a part of suffering with Christ? Certainly, we need to discern and understand what comes from God to edify us, and what comes from the evil one, so that we could avoid it. Knowledge of His ways directs our steps into greater light. With this revelation of how a test of God differs from the temptation of the evil one, you would know how to face your battles in your downtime.

Let’s study from James 1: 2 to 15, where James writes about two prominent aspects that come to try the faith of every believer- Trails and Temptations. In verse 2 (‘My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials..’), he talks about trails and further in verse 12 (Blessed is the man who endures temptation), he talks about temptations. Certainly, he means to say that both are different and need to be dealt with uniquely.

What is a trail?
A trail is a challenge, it is an exam to test you, through which you will be qualified to next level. For you to advance into the next level you surely must go through trials, the result of which will bear you a good testimony on the other side of the eternity. These tests come from the Lord to promote you to the next level of glory. God tested Abraham, David, Moses, and all His servants before He could promote them.

James says in Verse 2, count it all joy when you fall into various trials because God is testing you for your good. Trails come to those who walk in His will and require some more pruning to be further qualified in His will. The very reason behind these trails is to cultivate the fruits of the Spirit in you that you may stand strong on the day of the battle. Remember, without facing the wild bears in the forest, David would have been powerless against Goliath; so was the jail experience for Joseph and many more examples you can relate to. We must be joyous because God’s eyes are on us and He is designing situations for us to go through so that we may bear much fruit for His glory in the latter days.

Remember, these trails never harm or put you to loss, they are only to strengthen the spirit person in you. If you fail in your test, you will have to go through again and again, until you finally overcome it. The only loss is the loss of time. Abraham took 25 years; Moses took 40 years while David took 7 years to learn the lesson of faith through various testing and trails. Your failures don’t stop God from working on you, He starts off all over again from where you last fell. This is the nature of a trail. The end result of a trail is to produce ‘patience’- a quality without which you cannot march any further.

How to face a trial?
> Count it all joy.
> Be joyous in trails, do not allow your peace to be stolen.
> Be patient.
> Allow the fruits of the Spirit to be strengthened in you.
> Ask God for wisdom or great light about the things concerning you.
> Do not doubt, show greater faith that before; it is all working for your good.

What is temptation?

On the contrary, temptation never comes from God. Temptation comes as a result of the enemy’s seed inside us luring us towards the sin. James talks about the mechanism of temptation in a believer’s heart in verses 14-15-“But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” Having a desire is not wrong but allowing it to draw you away from God’s ways is wrong. When you are drawn away by that desire, you will be enticed (lured and fooled.) Then your very own desire starts deceiving you and it starts becoming stubborn in you. Furthermore, when it is fully matured, it forces you to sin against God’s leading. When you get into this habit of consciously sinning, it results in your spiritual death.

The test is taken until you are qualified to the next level but the temptation is not so. It is either DO or DIE; that’s the reason God says- “Blessed is the man who endures temptation for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” Furthermore, enduring the temptation doesn’t mean you are approved; it is just the part of your story through which you are strengthened in Spirit.

How to endure Temptation?
> Don’t blame God when you are tempted.
> Check where you have sinned -“area of sin”
> Check the reason which led you to sin; For it is this reason, which is a desire that you have in your heart against God’s will; which has misled you and turned you away from God’s will.
> Find out what the scriptures talk about that desire.
> Obey the word of God in that area and bring that desire under your control.
> For those who love the Lord can overcome this; have fellowship with the Lord.
> Deny the sin and show love to God.

Then you will be blessed and on approval, you will receive the crown of life (verse 12).

Do not let the enemy deceive you either way, neither in trails nor in temptations; for both are to test our faith and make us worthy of our calling. Amen.

God Bless You
-Sis. Shruti