Never Compromise in Faith

Why do we ladies in God’s Church often find ourselves the recipient of some mild disaster around the Holy Days? Why does God allow us to suffer through these trials? What does experiencing these tribulations teach us? And how does Christ’s example teach us to deal with our trials and suffering?

Maybe your family car breaks down or your kitchen appliances go on the fritz and you know you don’t have the extra money to fix them. Maybe some long lost relatives decide to come visit you the day before Passover and stay for a week. Maybe your boss or your husband’s boss tells you that if you don’t show up to work on the First Day of Unleavened Bread or during the Feast of Tabernacles, you’re fired. Perhaps your child’s teacher tells you that they cannot miss another day of school “or else.” Maybe you or someone in your family becomes ill suddenly. In an instant, your mailbox gets stuffed with expensive bills. It may become a time of suffering under extreme pressure for a situation out of your control.

What are your thoughts in that moment? Did they turn into panic or worrying what you could do to fix the situation? Or did your attitude become one of submission and reliance on God to handle whatever it is, no matter the outcome?

Do you try to learn a lesson from the experience? Do you look to God for the answer?

It is your opportunity, as a woman in God’s Church, to show God your faith in Him. We cannot allow ourselves or our families to turn aside in keeping the Sabbath or Holy Days, no matter what jobs we may lose. God is able to work it out with your or your husband’s boss, and can even provide you with a better job opportunity.

All of those bills will not get paid with the little bit of money we had saved for an offering, but God’s work will benefit from it. If we decide to use the money that we set aside for tithe or offerings elsewhere, we aren’t trusting in God to provide for us. He may decide to send you a random check in the mail originating from an overpayment of insurance three years ago that will exactly cover your bills. If you aren’t able to fix your car, you may still call someone for a ride to services, or—seemingly out of nowhere—God can provide someone who will help you. If you can’t repair your washing machine or your dishwasher right away, you can go to a laundromat or wash dishes by hand until things work out. Are you willing to let God take the lead when things get tough, or do you keep compromising to work things out yourself at the cost of losing out on God’s way of life?

We should never doubt that God can and will work things out for our benefit. When things look inescapable, God sees the way out. It’s up to you to trust that He will guide you there. We cannot compromise in our trials to make things come about the way we want them to. That might not be the best way possible. Only trusting in God to work our problems out can there be the best outcome.

The answers to our trials never look easy, but our ultimate lesson is to trust God to handle everything. Stay the course. Continue on the right path, because God promises to deliver you. All things work together for good, to those who love and keep His commandments.