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| Photo by tommao wang on Unsplash |
The first Bishop of Liverpool, J. C. Ryle, wrote in his 1877 book Holiness:
"The winds of winter soon show us which of the trees are evergreen... The storms of affliction and care are useful in the same way. They reveal whose faith is real."
I'm no expert on trees but on a simplistic level it seems that deciduous trees when faced with the harshness of winter hunker down, shed everything unnecessary and retreat until conditions get better. Evergreen trees, on the other hand, seem to have the resilience and resources to keep going through those harsh conditions. Ryle says that in a similar way, the way we react to the troubles that we face in life expose where our faith and trust is and whether it is adequate to help us through those times.
In the Bible book of Job, Satan says to God that Job only trusts God because God has blessed him with a great family and wealth. Satan says if all this is taken away, Job will curse God. However, when Job loses all he has, he is deeply distressed but he doesn't curse God, instead he says “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised” (Job 1:21). In his time of suffering Job proclaimed his faith and trust in God, recognising that all he has or had came from God in the first place and also praising God because he, Job, knew that God's actions were wise and trustworthy, even if Job couldn't understand why.
Jesus' brother James pointed to Job as an example of patience in the face of suffering (James 5:10), and the apostle Peter, who knew very well what suffering was like, writing to small Christian communities who were also undergoing suffering, spoke of those sufferings as ways in which their faith was being refined and proved genuine (1 Peter 1:6-7). They were being persecuted for their faith, and those who didn't really believe in Jesus or in the eternal life he promises to those who believe, would renounce their faith. Like deciduous trees they would shed their outward signs of faith, and in doing so show that their faith was not deep.
Although we may not face the same life or death consequences of publicly demonstrating our faith, as Ryle says, how we react to any affliction or trouble reveals our faith. If we curse God for it, we show that we don't believe that he is loving and just. If we rely on ourselves and our own resources to cope, rather than turning to him in prayer, we show that we don't believe that he is willing or able to help us. What do the storms in your life reveal about your faith?
In the Bible book of Job, Satan says to God that Job only trusts God because God has blessed him with a great family and wealth. Satan says if all this is taken away, Job will curse God. However, when Job loses all he has, he is deeply distressed but he doesn't curse God, instead he says “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised” (Job 1:21). In his time of suffering Job proclaimed his faith and trust in God, recognising that all he has or had came from God in the first place and also praising God because he, Job, knew that God's actions were wise and trustworthy, even if Job couldn't understand why.
Jesus' brother James pointed to Job as an example of patience in the face of suffering (James 5:10), and the apostle Peter, who knew very well what suffering was like, writing to small Christian communities who were also undergoing suffering, spoke of those sufferings as ways in which their faith was being refined and proved genuine (1 Peter 1:6-7). They were being persecuted for their faith, and those who didn't really believe in Jesus or in the eternal life he promises to those who believe, would renounce their faith. Like deciduous trees they would shed their outward signs of faith, and in doing so show that their faith was not deep.
Although we may not face the same life or death consequences of publicly demonstrating our faith, as Ryle says, how we react to any affliction or trouble reveals our faith. If we curse God for it, we show that we don't believe that he is loving and just. If we rely on ourselves and our own resources to cope, rather than turning to him in prayer, we show that we don't believe that he is willing or able to help us. What do the storms in your life reveal about your faith?
