The title of this message today could very easily have been assigned the title "Trial of Life", "Trial of Faith", "Trial of Transformation" or any combination thereof. A common thread among these foregoing titles is the burden of proof or a demonstration of the validity of a claim. In short, this is comparable to a legal standard whereby concrete evidence is not an option, but a requirement. To sum it up, each of the preceding titles signifies an assortment of life altering, or perhaps unsuspecting or even unavoidable life terminating experiences.
In the Book of Daniel, an epic and literal trial by fire is depicted when three (3) Hebrew boys, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, are taken into custody and charged with the crime of refusing to worship a false god. They simply refused to bow down and agree to engage in the practice of idolatry. Their fate was then sealed, and King Nebuchadnezzar ordered that they be cast into a raging fiery furnace. The succeeding passages vividly opens the window to the details of this unthinkable and gruesome act. However, their fate was superseded by their faith: "There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God." (Daniel 3:12-15; 23-25).
That being said, the imagery itself brings to light a myriad of case studies associated with the so-called vicissitudes of life. In others words, my beloved, I liken it to a roller-coaster ride that we all boarded subsequent to being "born again", or born from above (John 3:3-5). As I speak from my own experiences, it has without question, qualified as an endurance race. In the epistle of James, the half-brother of our Lord Jesus Christ, he writes: "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." (James 1:12-15).
The narrative in the Scripture that comes to mind depicts the woes of the "servant" Job and certainly serves as a startling illustration, and almost verbatim, a deeply distressing and horrific roller-coaster ride gone awry. And if you have read and digested this, as I have, it is likely that varying opinions have been arrived at; and in terms of whether or not such trials, trauma and troubles were warranted in Job's case. Do remember that Job was also blessed with the divine privilege of engaging in a dialog with Almighty God. And whether or not Job suffered or otherwise was in strict accordance with His divine will. And the same applies to any among those who are a product Creator God. Needless to, but I'll say it anyway, that includes us. Even Job himself expressed: "And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." (Job 1:21).
Thus, the scenes in this narrative shift from what appears to be an attitude of complacency, to being content or satisfied to a fault. Ultimately, Job arrived at the pinnacle of his adverse circumstances. The following passages clearly attest to that fact: "And now my soul is poured out upon me; the days of affliction have taken hold upon me. My bones are pierced in me in the night season: and my sinews take no rest. By the great force of my disease is my garment changed: it bindeth me about as the collar of my coat. He hath cast me into the mire, and I am become like dust and ashes. I cry unto thee, and thou dost not hear me: I stand up, and thou regardest me not. Thou art become cruel to me: with thy strong hand thou opposest thyself against me. Thou liftest me up to the wind; thou causest me to ride upon it, and dissolvest my substance. For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living. Howbeit he will not stretch out his hand to the grave, though they cry in his destruction. Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was not my soul grieved for the poor?" (Job 30:16-25).
Before proceeding, I truly believe that I am obligated to share a plain and simple fact about our sovereign and glorious Creator God. Another way to say this is that the Author of existence clearly needs nothing from anybody, because He is Self-existent, Self-governing, Self-sufficient : "I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things." (Isaiah 45:5-7).
The Lord owes nothing or anything to anybody. He makes something out of nothing and the ordinary extraordinary. Listen and embed in your hearts the absolute and eternal truth of His Word: "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." (Genesis 2:7). I do not belong to me, nor do we belong to us. What we have is on loan, because His only begotten son reminds His people that we have been purchased on Calvary and at the Cross: "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
Let us make no mistake dearly beloved, as biblical prophecy is imminent. A world once drowned by water will be utterly consumed by fire. As the Word of God warns us all, He will annihilate the unbelieving and the ungodly, and with extreme prejudice: "But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." (2 Peter 3:7-10).
Finally, my beloved, this tour has taken us full circle or back to the very beginning. I am not speaking of a literal beginning but a spiritual beginning whereas the Lord loved us, beckoned us, redeemed us and guided us. He now keeps us until He returns to this world to reclaim us. Until then, the trials, tribulations and turmoil that we are subject to in this life qualify merely as "light afflictions" (2 Corinthians 4:17-18): "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:" (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, Colossians 1:26-28).