Posted: 06 October 2023

From a sermon given on 01 October 2023:

If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.
(Proverbs 24:10 )

Trying time are times of struggle or unhappiness. If you describe something of someone as trying, you mean that they are difficult to deal with and they make you feel impatient or annoyed. (Collins Dictionary). The synonyms for trying times are adversity, tribulations, hardships, misery, misfortunes etc.

Life is full of things that are beyond our control. All human beings go through challenging moments during their lives. God, in his wisdom has availed the coping grace to enable us climb every wall. The darkest hours precede great blessings. Martin Luther puts it this way, "We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope."

It is important to learn to deal with what we are able and leave the rest to God. During the trying times, you have to keep on trying. We have to develop spiritual muscles so that we may able to gracefully go through our darkest hour. “Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today” (Thich Nnat Hanh)

Further Readings:

Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the Lord's vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence.
(Jeremiah 51:6)

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
(1 Corinthians 10:13)

For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
(Hebrews 12:3)