Fiery Trials

My last blog touched upon spiritual attacks and the weapons God has provided for us to deal with them. Sometimes spiritual attacks can be very intense. The Bible refers to those as fiery trials. Not all spiritual attacks are fiery trials, but fiery trials are intense spiritual attacks.

So how does a fiery trial differ from your average spiritual attack? Sometimes we don’t give much thought or recognition to spiritual attacks, they happen nonchalantly. Oftentimes they affect our witness of Christ, or our ability to deal with tough situations. But, a fiery trial is one that keeps you awake at night, like a continuous burning fire that doesn’t go out. However, this is actually a test of faith to show you your heart and conform you into the image of God.

God’s word says:

the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick; who can understand it? “ I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” (Jeremiah 17:9-10)

You may think you know your heart, but God puts it to a test to show you what He already knows about you. By the way, the phrase “follow your heart” is not biblical. That’s why we all need Jesus! Through Jesus we are given everything needed to transform our hearts and minds into the likeness of God; for that was what we were created to be. We were made in the image of God, but our free will that allows us to choose how we live our life, reveals our true heart.

Two Perspectives

The Bible often interchanges the word trial and temptation in different translations. Although it is written: God does not tempt you, He does allow Satan to do so, and that temptation often results in a trial. But rest assured, His word promises to ultimately turn it all out for your good and His glory. It’s all about perspective, God’s perspective, Satan’s perspective and your understanding of them both. No matter which perspective you view it from, you can still be an overcomer. Some of following information is gathered from one of my favorite Bible teachers, Perry Stone.

God’s perspective toward a trial takes you through the wilderness to prove what is inside you. It is definitely not the easy way. It is meant to prove you! Prove can be defined as a test by adventure. In the book of Exodus, the Israelites bitterly complained after God miraculously delivered them from Egypt. Their consequence was that they would spend forty years in the wilderness, until that generation died off, allowing only their children to enter the promised land. This was most certainly a test by adventure that proved all of their hearts to be wicked and ungrateful. The purpose of a fiery trial from God’s perspective is to show you your heart. Sometimes you don’t know your own heart until you’re under pressure.

Satan’s perspective is to prove that your faith will fail, because without faith it is impossible to please God. As I stated in my previous blog, he does not want you to please God. On the night of the last supper, Jesus spoke these word to Simon Peter.

“Simon, Simon, look out. Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22:31-32)

In the book of Job we see another place where Satan comes before the throne of God, seeking permission to test one of God’s righteous servants. God proudly tells Satan to consider how much His servant Job loves Him. Satan then asks God to remove His blessings from Job to prove that he was righteous, only because God was so good to him. So, the Lord allowed many fiery trials to come upon Job, proving to Satan that Job loved Him, no matter the cost. God knew Job’s heart. While the trials were not pretty, in the end, it all worked it all out for Job’s good and God’s glory.

The E-Factor

So how do you get through fiery trials? Perry Stone explained three ways, he calls the E-Factor. The trial is either exposed, you escape it, or you endure it.

Expose it: This is where the Lord brings a potential problem to light and you have the opportunity to deal with it in a biblical way before it settles in, and causes heart ache and keeps you up at night. This can only happen when you have your eyes and your heart set on God by being in the Word regularly and always praying for discernment. A biblical example of this comes from Paul’s attempted assassination. In Acts 23, a plot is exposed by Paul’s nephew, who informed the captain of the guard, thus preventing Paul’s death at that time.

Escape it: Sometimes God provides a way out with a prophetic word or a dream. In Genesis 20, Abraham became worried about his wife Sara’s great beauty, so he lied about being married to her. He was afraid King Abimelech would kill him and take Sara for himself. Therefore, God gave Abimelech a dream about a potential disaster that would come upon on him and his people, if he slept with Sara. God was not going to allow His covenant with Abraham to be broken. Abimelech responded obediently to the message in the dream and escaped the trial.

The apostle Paul says this about trials and temptations.

“So, whoever thinks he stands must be careful not to fall. No temptation has come upon you except what is common to humanity. But God is faithful; he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to bear it.” 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 CSB

Other biblical references to God providing a dream or a prophetic word to escape a trial, is found in the story of the prophet Elisha warning the King of Israel about the war plans of the King of Aram, (2 Kings 6). And again in the story of the dream given to the wise men from the East being warned not to return to Herod, but return home via a different route. (Matthew 2:12) There are many more you will discover as you embrace God’s Word.

Endure it: Then there are times you will have to be patient and wait it out. Patience is the ability to wait without sway. The apostle James talks about the patience of Job, who had lost everything, except his faith. Yet, when the trials were over, the Lord restored everything he had lost, back to him. “So the Lord blessed the last part of Job’s life more than the first.”(Job 42a)

The Bible is full of examples from the patriarchs, Abraham, Moses, Sara, Noah, David and more who had to wait, enduring many trials before they obtained the promises. Through their stories we are taught how to persevere, and by the reading of the Word, we gain the faith necessary to do whatever it takes.

A Personal Note

Many years ago, I was negotiating the purchase of a hair salon. The owner was in a rush to go through with the deal, but my husband felt something was off. He told me to wait. I was anxious and excited to get my own place. I did not take much time pray about it, or even ask God if I was doing the right thing. In my pride and impatience, I went through with the rushed deal, disregarding my husband’s advice. After the closing, I brought a celebratory bottle of champagne to my new staff, only to find them all walking out to work at a newly finished salon in a nearby shopping center. It turned into a nightmare of a fiery trial for me, revealing much about my heart. I have since learned that oftentimes patience is the tool that forces deception to reveal itself.

Had I been obedient to God’s word in honoring my husband and had I been patient, I could have purchased that salon for a fraction of the price. That fiery trial could have been exposed and avoided. However, I ended up enduring that trial for five years. I finally went on to overcome it, turning my heart fully towards God. I sold the salon for a profit and yielded a decent return on my investment. For the past twenty-five years, I’ve been happily working for the guy who bought that salon from me. What are the odds of that? God surely worked it all out for my good and His glory.

The Bible is full of examples of men and women of faith who exposed the attack, who escaped the attack and who endured the attack. Through Jesus Christ you are given his Holy Spirit, who is the Helper, the Advocate, the Counselor, the Spirit of Truth and much more. And through the power in the Word, you have the spiritual weapons I wrote about in the last blog. They will get you through any and all fiery trials, should you choose to use them. Remember this promise from God: “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength” Philippians 4:13

May God bless you all. Thank you for reading my blog. It is my hope that sharing this teaching with you, will inspire you to read more of God’s Word, increase your faith, and discover His amazing truths for yourself. Until the next time, be well and keep your eyes on God in all circumstances. He is faithful!