Thursday Daily Devotional By Pastor David Okoye (Ambassadors Diet 3rd November 2016) – Maturity Through Trials

“For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings”. Hebrews 2:10

Maturity is really not accorded to age. The King James rendering of 1 Corinthians 13:11 shows us that maturity is seen in three things: words, understanding and thought pattern. This means that anyone whose speech, understanding and thought-line is in variance with God is termed immature.

As Christians, there are certain things that make us matured.
One of which is trials/temptation/persecutions. If we interchange the word ‘perfect’ in our opening scripture with matured, we see that the perfection/maturity of Jesus (the Captain of our salvation) was gotten through the experience of suffering(s).

James 1:2-4 says, “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience…” Here is James, telling us to count it as a plus when we fall into temptations: he knew how important these temptations were.

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You see, a Christian whose faith has not been tried is not yet a Son. Every trial faced by a Christian works something in and for him.

Take the eagle as a case study; they never shy away from the storm. They get excited when they see a storm coming because it gives them the best flight experience. This is how a Godchild should react to challenges and trials.

Never fret when faced with a trial; they were designed to bring out the best in you. The way of trials would always bring you to a higher level. Trials bring out the quality of God in a man. The church in Acts experienced expansion as a result of their persecutions. So, when next you see a trial coming, know that there is an expansion tagged with it.

When you look at gold in its raw, unrefined state, it is in no way attractive. All that is needed to get it refined is the fire. The blacksmith would not stop heating the gold until he is able to see his reflection through that gold.

We are God’s gold. He wants to bring out the gold in us so He takes us through the fire; and just like the blacksmith, He would not stop heating the fire until He sees His reflection, His image in us. The only way to get perfect is through the fire.

2 Corinthians 4:17 says, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory”.

The AMP rendering puts the last part thus, “…an everlasting weight of glory (beyond all measure, excessively surpassing all comparisons and all calculations, a vast and transcendent glory and blessedness never to cease”.

So as you go through that trial, know that it is making you more like God and taking you a step closer to perfection.

DECLARATION
I rejoice when faced with trials because I know they were designed for my glory. I
endure the hardness; thereby, getting a step closer to perfection.

SCRIPTURAL REFERENCE
2 Corinthians 4:17-18(MSG), Psalms 23

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