Peace In The Midst Of TrialsSpeaker: Dr. Paul Dhinakaran Gist: Do not give up. Problems will come, tribulations will come, darkness will come, but in the midst of all the agony the Prince of Peace shall stand with you and enable you to become conquerors. The faith of every person shall be tested in this world, through fire. Job was a righteous man who feared God. God had blessed him; he had all blessings; he had ten children and abundant riches. But one day he last everything. Temptations and trials followed him. All his ten children died suddenly. All his sheep were destroyed by fire. His camels were stolen and a terrible sickness came upon his body. He was in great agony. He cried with tears. "Oh, that I knew where I might find Him, That I might come to His seat! I would present my case before Him, and fill my mouth with arguments"(Job 23:3,4). Yet he could not find the presence of God.
The Psalmist too cried in pain. "Why do You hide Your face, And forget our affliction and our oppression?" (Psalms 44:24)
Many years ago, there was a man of God who was used mightily by God, through the power of the Holy Spirit; he would tell them all their problems even before they told him. God did mighty miracles through him. That was in the later stage of his life. But before entering into such a big ministry, he was working as a forest official and preaching the Gospel. One day floods entered into the forest. He rushed to the forest to save the people. A few days passed by but he never came home. So much work. Suddenly he received a message, "Your wife is suffering from pneumonia. Rush back. She is about to die." He ran home. Alas, he saw only the dead body of his wife. He buried her; great agony surrounded him; nobody could console him. He had to continue his work in the forest. He left his only beautiful daughter under the care of somebody and went back to work for the oppressed people. Alas! He heard a message again - "Your daughter is also dying. Returning home, he saw only the dead body of his little daughter. He opened the grave of his dear wife and put the little child the bosom of her mother and closed the grave. Great darkness surrounded him; his heart was broken; he was passing through fire.
Friend, for the sake of Christ, may be you are going through such trials. May be you are also crying, 'Where is my master? How long should I go through this agony? Jesus, 'the Prince Of Peace' knows your agony. Look at Him in the garden of Gethsemane. He cried out, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me"(Matthew 26:38). "His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground" (Luke 22:44). In Luke 22:53, Jesus addressed Judas, the representative of Satan, saying, "This is your hour, and the power of darkness. I am surrounded by darkness."
Look at Jesus on the cross. In the height of agony, sudden darkness came upon Him (Matthew 27:45). At that time He cried out in agony "My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?" Jesus wept and travailed. Yet, He finally overcame that darkness. That's why He is the 'Prince of Peace' today. He has conquered all the darkness caused by the trials of faith. He has become the Prince over all such travails of His children. That is why, Jesus told His disciples, "I will not leave you orphans; I (the Prince of Peace) will come to you (and shall comfort you)" (John 14:18).
Yes, my dear friend, He comes and comforts us in the form of the Holy Spirit (John 14:26, 15:26). When darkness surrounds us, the Holy Spirit who is none other than the Spirit of Lord according to (2 Corinthians 3:17 comes and fills our hearts by which we are able to conquer. "I have over come the world" (John 16:33). Friend, do not give up. Problems will come, tribulations will come, darkness will come, but in the midst of all the agony the Prince of Peace shall stand with you and enable you to become conquerors. As He commanded the waves at sea, 'Peace, be still', He shall command the waves of your tribulations. Cheer up, my friend. The Prince of Peace will not let you down. Just open up your heart to Him, and let the 'Prince of Peace' born in your hearts. Peace be to you!
Prayer:
Prince of Peace,
Let not the problems, tribulations and darkness take away the peace from my heart. Fill my heart and mind with Your divine peace from now on. I know when Your divine peace enters my heart I will be able to feel the real peace which cannot be expressed in words. Make me a useful vessel through whom others may also experience Your divine peace. Let my words and deeds always bring peace to all. Protect me from the evil ones hands. Even when I pass through the valley of tears and the testing path of fire let me come out as gold. In Jesus' mighty name I pray.
Amen. |