151 Sermon Illustrations on Trials

I am not sent a pilgrim here, My heart with earth to fill; But I am

here God's grace to learn, And serve God's sovereign will. He leads me

on through smiles and tears, Grief follows gladness still; But let me

welcome both alike, Since both work out his will. No service in itself

is small, None great, though earth it fill; But that is small that

seeks its own, And great that seeks God's will. Then hold my hand,

most gracious Lord, Guide all my doings still; And let this be my

life's one aim, To do, or bear thy will.

An elephant in battle on the plains of India was a standard bearer, carrying on his huge back the royal ensign; the rallying point of the Poona host. At the beginning of the fight his master gave him the word to halt, and received a fatal wound and fell, where he lay under a heap of slain. The obedient elephant stood still while the battle closed round the standard he carried. He never stirred, refusing either to advance or retire as the conflict became fiercer; until the Mahrattas, seeing the standard flying steadily, refused to believe they were being beaten, and rallied again and again. All this while the patient animal stood, straining its ears to catch the sound of the voice it would never hear again. At length the tide of conquest left the field deserted; the Mahrattas pursued the flying foe; but the elephant, like a rock, stood with the dead and dying, and the ensign waving in its place. Three days and nights it remained where its master had commanded it to halt. No bribe nor threat could move it. They sent then, a hundred miles away, and brought the master’s son. The noble hero seemed to remember how his master sometimes gave his authority to the little child, and with shattered trappings clanging, went quietly, slowly away.

A lady traveler was spending the summer m Switzerland, and one day

she strolled out to a shepherd's cabin. As she peered into it, she saw

the shepherd at work and his sheep lying around near him. One was

lying on some straw somewhat afflicted. On inquiry she found that its

leg was broken, and she was much surprised when the shepherd admitted

that he broke the leg himself. He then went on to explain to his

astonished visitor that this particular sheep was the most wayward one

in the flock. It would not mind his voice; but, on the contrary, would

wander off from the rest, and risk its life on some steep precipice

over which it was liable to fall and be killed. Not only was it

disobedient, but it was constantly leading others astray. Finally, the

shepherd broke its leg. The first time he went to feed it after that,

the sheep tried to bite him. Then he left it alone for two days

without food. Then, when he brought it food, it not only took it, but

licked his hands in appreciation of his kindness. The shepherd then

told the visitor that in a little while the sheep would be well, and

then would be the model sheep in the flock; that there would not be

one that would pay better attention to his voice, and that it would be

an example to all the rest. He said, "It will have learned obedience

through suffering." How like our heavenly Father with His sheep! He is

not breaking their legs, but often He breaks up their plans, breaks

down their air-castles, breaks up their fond hopes. God had to unjoint

Jacob's leg before he would properly yield his all to Him. Maybe we

have not carefully obeyed His voice. Maybe we have not been setting

the right examples before others. Maybe we have been getting too close

to the precipice. 0 God, at any cost or discipline, help us to be

Thine obedient sheep!

By William Moses Tidwell, "Effective Illustrations."

The storm was raging. A little boy was away from home visiting. The

parents in the home where he was visiting were away. He was in the

home with other small children. He was so afraid. The lightning would

flash and the thunder roar. He would cry, shudder, and say, "I wish I

were at home." But still the storm raged on! Finally, about midnight,

the little boy looked out into the darkness and saw a light. It was

someone coming toward the home with a lantern. Nearer and nearer the

light bearer came. It was the brother of the little boy. He said,

"Little brother, I thought you might be afraid, and I came to lead you

home." The big brother took the little brother by the hand, and as

they walked home the storm raged, but the tears had dried from the

eyes of the little brother. He was not afraid as the big brother led

him home.

Yes, amid the storms of life and at the end of the way we will need

our Elder Brother to lead us. "Yea, though I walk through the valley

of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me."

William Moses Tidwell, "Pointed Illustrations."

A farmer near London wrote to the Scripture Gift Mission enclosing

a five-shilling ($1.25) offering. In his letter he requested prayer

that no bombs should drop on his small farm. His harvest had not been

good, and his farm was very dry, with no water, and he had to buy

water. The secretary of the Mission wrote back and said he could not

ask that, but instead would pray that God's will might be done.

Soon afterwards Hitler's biggest bomb came down on this man's farm.

It broke all his windows, but no one was hurt. It was so big that it

went down very deep and unearthed a spring. The spring not only

watered his farm well, but it enabled him to let others have water

too. Last year, therefore, he had a very good harvest, and he sent a

fifty-pound check as a thanksgiving offering. The Lord had done

"exceeding abundantly above all" he asked or thought. How good and how

wise is our God in all His ways!

William Moses Tidwell, "Pointed Illustrations."

In \reference{Revelation 9}{Revelation 9}, God tells that under the

fifth seal the bottomless

pit, or hell, will be opened and doleful creatures like scorpions will

emerge and torment men. "And their torment was as the torment of a

scorpion, when he striketh a man. The following is a description of

the scorpion: "A venomous reptile, like a small lobster, that has a

bladder full of dangerous poison. It has four eyes and eight legs,

proceeding from its breast, each of which is divided into six parts,

covered with hair, at the end of which are six claws. The abdomen is

divided into seven rings; from the last protrudes the tail, which is

divided into seven little heads, which are armed with stings. The tail

is long and made after the manner of a string of beads. At the end of

the tail there are two hollow stings, which are filled with deadly

poison which the scorpion squirts into the body it stings. The

scorpion is a blackish color like soot. It fixes violently with its

snout and feet upon the person it stings so that it is almost

impossible to pluck it off. The mother brings forth eleven young ones,

which at first are small, round worms. After the mother has hatched

them, they kill the mother."

Fearful judgments are to be poured upon the earth during the Great

Tribulation. May we be raptured and thus "escape all these things."

William Moses Tidwell, "Pointed Illustrations."

There once was a KING who had an only son. One night this son had a

dream in which he was warned that his son would be killed by a lion.

Afraid the dream should prove true, he built for his son a pleasant

palace and adorned its walls for his amusement with all kinds of

life-sized animals, among which was the picture of a lion. When the

young Prince saw this, his grief at being thus confined burst out

afresh, and, standing near the lion, he said: "O you most detestable

of animals! through a lying dream of my father's, which he saw in his

sleep, I am shut up on your account in this palace as if I had been a

girl: what shall I now do to you?' With these words he stretched out

his hands toward a thorn-tree, meaning to cut a stick from its

branches so that he might beat the lion. But one of the tree's

prickles pierced his finger and caused great pain and inflammation, so

that the young Prince fell down in a fainting fit. A violent fever

suddenly set in, from which he died not many days later.

We had better bear our troubles bravely than try to escape them.

Indeed, sometimes God will place certain obstacles in the life of a

Christian to prevent sin or harm. However, if we try to remove these

obstacles, we will ultimately come to regret it.

THE OXEN once upon a time sought to destroy the Butchers, who practiced a trade destructive to their race. They assembled on a certain day to carry out their purpose, and sharpened their horns for the contest. But one of them who was exceedingly old (for many a field had he plowed) thus spoke: "These Butchers, it is true, slaughter us, but they do so with skillful hands, and with no unnecessary pain. If we get rid of them, we shall fall into the hands of unskillful operators, and thus suffer a double death: for you may be assured, that though all the Butchers should perish, yet men will always search to eat beef."

Do not be in a hurry to change your circumstance. If the Almighty One has sent you a trial, better to endure it than to exchange it for a greater evil.

A VERY LARGE OAK was uprooted by the wind and thrown across a

stream. It fell among some Reeds, which it thus addressed: "I wonder

how you, who are so light and weak, are not entirely crushed by these

strong winds." They replied, "You fight and contend with the wind,

and consequently you are destroyed; while we on the contrary bend

before the least breath of air, and therefore remain unbroken, and

escape."

Sometimes we have to be blown by the small storms in life so that we

won't be crushed and destroyed by the big storms in life!

A HOUND started a Hare from his lair, but after a long run, gave up

the chase. A goat-herd seeing him stop, mocked him, saying "The

little one is the best runner of the two." The Hound replied, "You do

not see the difference between us: I was only running for a dinner,

but he for his life."

Although Christians may suffer and struggle in life, their struggles

are definitely different than the struggles and sufferings that people

who do not know or love God experience. Better to experience struggles

with God than without Him!

THE HARES, oppressed by their own exceeding timidity and weary of the

perpetual alarm to which they were exposed, with one accord determined

to put an end to themselves and their troubles by jumping from a lofty

precipice into a deep lake below. As they scampered off in large

numbers to carry out their resolve, the Frogs lying on the banks of

the lake heard the noise of their feet and rushed quickly to the deep

water for safety. On seeing the rapid disappearance of the Frogs, one

of the Hares cried out to his companions: "Stay, my friends, do not

do as you intended; for you now see that there are creatures who are

still more timid than ourselves."

We must remember that no matter how difficult our tribulations may

seem to us, there are always others who are in a worse situation than

us!

1. What if the clouds are above you? Remember that ever since that

day when "a cloud received him out of their sight" he has been behind

every cloud. James Whitcomb Riley's verse is full of truth --

"But always keep rememberin', when cares your path enshroud,

That God has lots of sunshine to spill behind the cloud."

2. Remember that it is a "walk through," and your need not stop

today where you halted yesterday.

3. What if you did fail? His love has not in any way wavered toward

you. Those were sweet words of Browning's:-

"Have you found your life distasteful?

My life did, and does, smell sweet.

Was your youth of pleasure wasteful?

Mine I saved, and hold complete.

"Do your joys with age diminish?

When mine fail me, I'll complain.

Must in death your daylight finish?

My sun sets to rise again.

"I find earth not gray, but rosy;

Heaven not grim, but fair of hue.

Do I stoop? I pluck a posy;

Do I stand and stare? All's blue."

-- J. W. C.

By J. Wilbur Chapan, "Present Day Parables."

“Fear not, thou worm Jacob, thou shalt thresh the mountains.” -- Isaiah 41:14.

In the west of America, at the foot of the Rockies, on the Pacific coast, there are very strange and very interesting gullies. Geologists go from all parts of the world to see them. You can sail for miles inland in narrow, canal-like creeks, great fissures in the Rockies into which waves of the Pacific wind for miles, right into the heart of the country. As the steamer goes into the narrow creek, behold, there seems right before you a precipice of beetling rock. Yet full speed is registered. There is no reversing of the engines; you seem as if steered to go to pieces on that frowning rocky crag. The captain is on the bridge, unconcerned; and the screws are churning the water beneath the vessel and “straight ahead” you are going, when, lo, just as the prow seems to touch the rock, and you wonder that they are not reversing the engines, the crag splits, and you see right at its base a waterway that would almost float the navies of the world, nestling in the heart of the mountain. You never saw it till you went straight up. A timorous man would have turned, would have signaled with the bell to reverse the engines, to go full speed astern. It was faith, the faith of knowledge, the faith of having been there before, that made the steamer go right ahead, into the cleft where it could go sailing through. Go straight on; God will provide for the difficulty. Oh, I can say this Sabbath morning from my heart: “Go straight on; never slacken speed. Go right ahead.” Never the brain of a Christian was scattered on a rock that he went straight ahead against. Never; God will rather whirl the earth from his path than have you come to harm. Go right ahead, thou worm Jacob; thou shalt thresh the mountain.

By J. Wilbur Chapan, “Present Day Parables.”

The moon is never eclipsed but when it is at the full. Certainly

God's people are then in most danger. -- (Manton.) When all goes well

with them in house and field, in basket and in store, then should they

look, lest they be full and forget the Lord, and so become eclipsed.

For the world to come between us and our Lord is very easy, but very

terrible. When all is apparently prosperous as to soul matters, and

neither doubt nor fear nor temptation comes in, then also should the

heart look well to its bearings, lest at this very moment some evil

should interpose between God and the soul, and darkness should be the

fearful result. -- C. H. Spurgeon.

By J. Wilbur Chapan, "Present Day Parables."

A.B. Cooper said that one autumn day he went to a chrysanthemum show and observed some wonderful blooms. He inquired of a gardener, “How in the world do you manage to produce such marvelous flowers?”

“Well, sir, we concentrate all the strength of the plant in one or two blooms. If we would allow it to bear all the flowers it could, none would be worth showing. If you want a prize specimen, you must be content with a single chrysanthemum instead of a score.”

For the same reason, God sends trials to prune from our lives the useless blooms of self, popularity, and comfort, so that He may perfect in us one exquisite white blossom of holiness.

Trials are not to detriment but add to our growth. For example,

consider the kite flyer. He must take in hand the string of his kite

and run until the kite lifts up into the heavens. But he will not

reach his goal of a flying kite if there is no wind. Every kite flyer

knows that wind is necessary for flying kites. But note that kites do

not rise {with} the wind but rise against it. So it is with

trials. The Christian will not ascend to patience and maturity unless

he ascends against trials. Do trials make you soar above, or just

plain sore?

A man once complained to an angel that the cross which he was

carrying was too heavy. Then the angel led him to a vast field of

crosses and said, "All right, go look to your heart's content. When

you find one you like better, you can exchange it for your's." After

looking for weeks the man could not find no cross lighter than his

own.

A lot of Christians have an ejection-seat mentality. As soon as

they get into difficulty, they want to pull the ejection cord and zip

off into glory, hoping to get away from it all.

In his book, an elderly minister carried a bookmark that was made

of silk threads woven into a motto. The back of the bookmark was a

tangled web of crossed threads that seemed to be without reason or

purpose. When the minister visited a home or hospital room where

there was great trouble, sorrow, or death, he would frequently show

the bookmark, first presenting the reverse side with all its

unintelligible tangle. When the distressed one had examined it

intently without finding any meaning to the seeming disorder, the

minister would ask him to turn the fabric over. Immediately, against

a white silk background, there appeared a phrase in colored threads:

"God is Love." That side made sense, it had order and meaning.

So it is in life. We often experience events that seem to be

without explanation or meaning, like a maze of tangled threads. But

when we are face to face with Christ and can view our life from

eternity, we will see that every detail - good and bad, pleasant and

unpleasant - was woven together to show us that indeed "God is Love."

God's Darkroom

Read: Lamentations 3:1-6,22-26

He has set me in dark places . . . . It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. --Lamentations 3:6,26

To develop photographs, the film must first be taken into a darkroom. Only after the chemicals have done their work in the dark is it safe to expose the negatives to light and produce the final prints. The light, which would have destroyed the film, now brings out its beauty.

God takes us through "darkroom" experiences to develop our spiritual life. As we pass through trial, sorrow, frustration, and disappointment, the image of Christ is produced in us. Then we are ready to be displayed in the light.

Too often we blame people or circumstances for our dark tunnels of despair and frustration. Although they may be the secondary causes, we need to realize that the hand of the heavenly Father momentarily shades the light from our pathway. He graciously takes us through such experiences because He wants to provide us with the benefits of darkness.

Are you in God's darkroom? Then don't despair. The Lord is developing the beauty of Christlikeness within you for display in His art gallery of eternity! Do not seek to get back into the light too soon. Await His perfect timing, or you will spoil the imprint of His love on the film of your life. --Henry G. Bosch

Still will we trust, though earth seem dark and dreary,

And the heart faint beneath His chastening rod;

Though rough and steep our pathway, worn and weary,

Still will we trust in God. --Burleigh

God takes us into His darkroom to develop godliness.

The testing of your faith produces patience. —James 1:3

Every computer printer shipped by a Colorado company is first frozen, then heated to 130 degrees Fahrenheit, and finally shaken violently for a quarter of an hour. This testing is the final step in a process called “ruggedization,” which prepares an ordinary printer for use by the military. With its circuit boards secured and all components enclosed in a metal case, the printer is thoroughly tested to make sure it will work on the battlefield.

If that reminds you of the spiritual ruggedization you’re undergoing today, take heart. It is God Himself, our loving Father, who allows the times of testing to prepare us to serve Him. When we find ourselves in difficult circumstances, the Bible offers the surprising instruction to “count it all joy … knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience” (James 1:2-3).

Through it all, God invites us to ask Him for wisdom. Why? That we might know how to respond properly to our trials. He gives this wisdom “liberally” to all who ask (v.5).

If life was like a clean, air-conditioned office, then off-the-shelf Christians would be adequate to meet the need. But we inhabit a world engulfed in a life-or-death spiritual battle. As we trust God through the difficult times, we’ll become rugged and ready, tested and prepared for greater usefulness. —DCM

God has a purpose in our heartaches,

The Savior always knows what’s best;

We learn so many precious lessons

In each sorrow, trial, and test. —Jarvis

God allows adversity into our lives not to break us but to better us.

*

[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #9058]

Higher Math

Read: James 1:1-8

Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. --James 1:2-3.

Faith + Trials = Patience

One might better try to mix oil and water. But what makes this formula work is confidence in God's unfailing love, which allows for all the human emotions that come with life's trials.

Shirley and her husband Roy proved that this equation is still up-to-date. Here's their story: Roy was told that in 6 months the plant where he worked would close but he would receive severance pay.

Shirley wrote, "Praise the Lord for that--but also praise the Lord that He loves us so much He's given us yet another trial in our lives. (This will be the fourth time we're starting over in the 13 years we've been married.) At first I panicked and questioned God's love. But I kept reading my Bible, stopped feeling sorry for myself, and started to pray for others. As long as God gives us this roof over our heads (and even if we lose it), I'll thank Him."

So when you face trials, you can "count it all joy" if you add faith, knowing that God's love will never fail. As you do, you will develop an attitude of patient expectation, confident that God will do what is best. --DJD

Afflictions may test me,

They cannot destroy;

One glimpse of Thy love

Turns them all into joy. --Willett

The first lesson in patience is learning to count our trials as joy.

If William Booth's church could handle sticks and stones in the 1880s, it should withstand the recent barrage of hateful words.

________

According to a memo leaked to The Washington Post last week, the Salvation Army was hoping to swing a deal with the Bush administration: the Army would support his faith-based initiative if he protected them from local laws requiring employers to provide benefits for employees' same-sex partners. As extensively documented in CT Weblog (appearing daily at http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct), the media went bananas, accusing the Salvation Army of everything from "injecting religious views into secular activities" to issuing a "call to hate." According to the rabid newspaper columnists, letting city councils adjudicate doctrine is more appropriate than letting a church (for the Salvation Army is first and foremost a Christian church) manage its own affairs.

Aggravating as this assault must be to the Salvationists, they've weathered worse.

William Booth (1829-1912), who founded the Army along with his wife, Catherine, started his ministry in England's Wesleyan Methodist church. Soon after his conversion, teenage Booth invited a group of street people to his chapel. The elders resented the intrusion and told him not to bring them again. Booth eventually became a minister with the denomination, but in 1850, due to a misunderstanding, the church kicked him out. He tried the Reform Methodists and the Methodist New Connexion but decided by 1861 that he was done with "settled ministry." A few years later he organized the East London Christian Mission, which, in 1878, became the Salvation Army.

Booth's organization focused on evangelism, announcing, "The Christian Mission has met in Congress to make War. It has organized a Salvation Army to carry the blood of Christ and the fire of the Holy Ghost into every corner of the world." At first, though, Booth's "world" included almost exclusively England's urban working-class and poor, from which he and 94 percent of the Army's officers hailed. Preaching the gospel in that environment naturally led to other sorts of ministry, like serving breakfast to homeless children and saving women from prostitution. Even Booth's theology of redemption grew to encompass both soul and body. He wrote in the article "Salvation for Both Worlds," "As Christ came to call not saints but sinners to repentance, so the New Message of Temporal Salvation, or salvation from pinching poverty, from rags and misery, must be offered to all."

Soon after its founding, the Army came under fire from a variety of sources. Some Christians didn't like Booth's interpretation of the Gospel. Passers-by resented street preachers' calls for repentance and the noise of Army bands. Bar owners bristled when formerly faithful customers got saved and stopped drinking. While concerned Christians usually attacked the new movement in print, other antagonists used fists, clubs, and knives. In 1882 alone, some 700 Army personnel in England were assaulted.

That's not all. According to Cyril Barnes, in God's Army (1978), "Some of the persecution suffered by Salvationists had much more serious effects. In Guildford, England, a woman died after being kicked and knocked insensible. ... In the U.S., a soldier of the corps at St. Louis was clubbed, stoned, and jumped upon until he died. A woman soldier was murdered at Pontiac, Michigan. A doorkeeper died from stabbing in San Francisco. A woman captain was shot and killed in Spokane, Washington."

In the midst of this persecution, the Army's ministry exploded. The number of officers grew to 190 by the end of 1879, then 233 eight months later. Work spread to the United States in 1879, Australia in 1880, and Canada, India, Switzerland, and Sweden in 1881. By 1883 the church had founded well over 500 centers of worship, each with at least one presiding officer.

Once, in 1882, an Army band in Sheffield was attacked by a gang called the Blades, who beat the Salvationists, pelted them with eggs, and ruined their instruments. When the troops mustered for inspection by Booth, he told them, "Now is the time to have your photographs taken!" Today's media snapshot of the church is equally unflattering, but if the ministry holds its ground, Booth would be equally proud.

* The story of the Salvation Army can be read in CH issue 26: William and Catherine Booth

* Historian Diane Winston chronicles the Army's shift in emphasis from evangelism to social services in Red-Hot and Righteous: The Urban Religion of the Salvation Army (Harvard, 2000)

* For links to related news stories, see http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct

The words of Henry Ward Beecher come to mind in times of trial: "No physician ever weighed out medicine to his patients with half so much care and exactness as God weighs out to us every trial. Not one grain too much does He ever permit to be put on the scale."

A man who had hitchhiked from coast to coast and had walked many miles in the process was asked what he had found the most difficult to endure. To the surprise of his questioner it was not the steep mountains or the dazzling sun or the scorching desert heat that had troubled him, but, in the words of the traveler, "it was the sand in my shoe."

Frequently the little things in life make the practice of the Christian faith most difficult. Somehow the great trials of life-moments of crisis, of serious illness, of death and bereavement-have a way of raising us and bringing us closer to the only source of spiritual strength, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

But those smaller trials, how they plague us! How they succeed again and again in causing us to fail and stumble. Those little irritations in the home, those endless vexations at the shop or office, those little rubs with the neighbors, those petty quarrels at church-those are the "sand in our shoe," which wear our Christianity thin.