Trials of life · 21 trials · 0 trial pages built

The Trials of Life

21 anguishes of life in 5 groups, each with the text Scripture speaks to it and the place where Christ bore it.

A trial is an anguish a person carries and brings to Scripture: grief, anxiety, pain, waiting. Each trial page will set out where the trial comes from, where Christ bore it and what the text gives a person to do in it, and opens onto studies of its texts, stories and words. Until a trial page is built, its row opens the subject page it will take in, and its studies stand in preparation.

Sorrow and loss

The trials of grief, of the body and of being alone, and the last enemy. 4 trials.

The trials of Sorrow and loss: each with its key text, its sentence, where Christ bore it, its studies and its page
The trial	Key text	In one sentence	Christ in the trial	Studies
Grief and loss	Key text: John 11:35 “Jesus wept.”	Grief is the sorrow of loss, and Scripture gives the mourner words to pray and a hope that stands beside the tears.	Christ in the trial: Isaiah 53:3 “a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief”	7 studies planned, in preparationOpen the subject page it takes in
Illness and pain	Key text: 2 Corinthians 12:9 “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.”	Illness and pain weaken the body, and Scripture holds out both the prayer for healing and grace that is enough when healing is withheld.	Christ in the trial: Matthew 8:17 “He took on our infirmities and carried our diseases.”	8 studies planned, in preparationOpen the subject page it takes in
Loneliness	Key text: Psalm 68:6 “God settles the lonely in families”	Loneliness is the pain of being cut off from others, and Scripture names God as the One who sees the lonely and sets them in a family.	Christ in the trial: Matthew 27:46 “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”	7 studies planned, in preparationOpen the subject page it takes in
Death and dying	Key text: 1 Corinthians 15:55 “‘Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?’”	Death is the last enemy, and Scripture teaches that Christ has broken its power for those who belong to Him.	Christ in the trial: Hebrews 2:14 “so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death”	7 studies planned, in preparationOpen the subject page it takes in

The troubled heart

The trials of the anxious, the overloaded, the afraid, the downcast and the doubting. 5 trials.

The trials of The troubled heart: each with its key text, its sentence, where Christ bore it, its studies and its page
The trial	Key text	In one sentence	Christ in the trial	Studies
Anxiety and worry	Key text: 1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”	Anxiety is the fear of what may come, and Scripture tells the anxious to cast it on God because He cares for them.	Christ in the trial: Mark 14:33 “began to be deeply troubled and distressed”	7 studies planned, in preparationOpen the subject page it takes in
Stress and weariness	Key text: Exodus 18:18 “the task is too heavy for you. You cannot handle it alone.”	Stress is the weight of more demands than a person can carry, and Scripture answers it with shared burdens, rest and sleep received from God.	Christ in the trial: John 4:6 “Jesus, weary from His journey, sat down by the well”	7 studies planned, in preparation
Fear	Key text: Isaiah 41:10 “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God.”	Fear is the alarm of danger, and the command Scripture repeats most is not to fear, because God is with His people.	Christ in the trial: Hebrews 5:7 “with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death”	6 studies planned, in preparationOpen the subject page it takes in
Despair and depression	Key text: Psalm 42:5 “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me? Put your hope in God”	Despair is the loss of hope, and the psalms show believers speaking to their own downcast souls and turning them toward God.	Christ in the trial: Matthew 26:38 “My soul is consumed with sorrow to the point of death.”	7 studies planned, in preparation
Doubt	Key text: Mark 9:24 “I do believe; help my unbelief!”	Doubt is faith wavering between belief and unbelief, and Scripture shows Christ meeting the doubter with evidence and mercy.	Christ in the trial: John 20:27 “Stop doubting and believe.”	7 studies planned, in preparationOpen the subject page it takes in

Wrongs and long waits

The trials of suffering itself, of wrongs done and of the years between the promise and the answer. 4 trials.

The trials of Wrongs and long waits: each with its key text, its sentence, where Christ bore it, its studies and its page
The trial	Key text	In one sentence	Christ in the trial	Studies
Suffering	Key text: Romans 8:18 “I consider that our present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us.”	Suffering is the pain of a fallen world, and Scripture sets it beside the glory to come and the Saviour who suffered first.	Christ in the trial: 1 Peter 2:21 “Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example”	6 studies planned, in preparationOpen the subject page it takes in
Injustice	Key text: Habakkuk 1:2 “How long, O LORD, must I call for help but You do not hear, or cry out to You, ‘Violence!’ but You do not save?”	Injustice is suffering a wrong that goes unpunished, and Scripture brings the cry of the wronged to God, who judges justly.	Christ in the trial: 1 Peter 2:23 “When they heaped abuse on Him, He did not retaliate”	6 studies planned, in preparationOpen the subject page it takes in
Persecution	Key text: Matthew 5:10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”	Persecution is suffering for belonging to Christ, and He called the persecuted blessed and said they would be treated as He was.	Christ in the trial: John 15:20 “If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well”	6 studies planned, in preparation
Waiting	Key text: Psalm 27:14 “Wait patiently for the LORD; be strong and courageous.”	Waiting is the long time between a prayer and its answer, and Scripture shows God keeping His promises at His own appointed time.	Christ in the trial: John 2:4 “My hour has not yet come.”	6 studies planned, in preparationOpen the subject page it takes in

Sin and its wounds

The trials a person brings on himself or carries from others: shame, anger and the ruin after failure. 3 trials.

The trials of Sin and its wounds: each with its key text, its sentence, where Christ bore it, its studies and its page
The trial	Key text	In one sentence	Christ in the trial	Studies
Shame and guilt	Key text: Romans 10:11 “Anyone who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”	Shame and guilt are the burden of sin, and Scripture shows God covering the sinner and Christ bearing the shame of the cross.	Christ in the trial: Hebrews 12:2 “endured the cross, scorning its shame”	6 studies planned, in preparationOpen the subject page it takes in
Anger	Key text: Ephesians 4:26 “Be angry, yet do not sin.”	Anger is the heat of a wrong felt, and Scripture allows that it may be right but warns that it quickly becomes sin.	Christ in the trial: Mark 3:5 “Jesus looked around at them with anger and sorrow at their hardness of heart.”	7 studies planned, in preparationOpen the subject page it takes in
Failure and restoration	Key text: Joel 2:25 “I will repay you for the years eaten by locusts”	Restoration is God rebuilding what failure or ruin has broken, as Christ restored Peter after his denial.	Christ in the trial: Luke 22:32 “And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”	6 studies planned, in preparationOpen the subject page it takes in

The weight of daily life

The trials of money, work, marriage, children and the question of what a life is for. 5 trials.

The trials of The weight of daily life: each with its key text, its sentence, where Christ bore it, its studies and its page
The trial	Key text	In one sentence	Christ in the trial	Studies
Money and want	Key text: Proverbs 30:8 “Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the bread that is my portion.”	Money and want test a person in poverty and in plenty, and Scripture asks for daily bread and warns against the love of money.	Christ in the trial: 2 Corinthians 8:9 “though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor”	6 studies planned, in preparationOpen the subject page it takes in
Work and toil	Key text: Ecclesiastes 2:22 “For what does a man get for all the toil and striving with which he labors under the sun?”	Work became toil after the fall, and Scripture names both its frustration and its worth when it is done for God.	Christ in the trial: Mark 6:3 “Isn’t this the carpenter”	6 studies planned, in preparationOpen the subject page it takes in
Marriage in its trials	Key text: 1 Corinthians 7:28 “those who marry will face troubles in this life”	Marriage brings its own troubles, and Scripture asks husband and wife to love each other as Christ loved the church.	Christ in the trial: Ephesians 5:25 “just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her”	6 studies planned, in preparationOpen the subject page it takes in
Parenting in its trials	Key text: Luke 15:20 “So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still in the distance, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.”	Parenting brings the trials of raising children and of children who stray, and Scripture shows a father who runs to the son who comes home.	Christ in the trial: Luke 2:48 “Your father and I have been anxiously searching for You.”	7 studies planned, in preparationOpen the subject page it takes in
Purpose and futility	Key text: Ecclesiastes 12:13 “Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.”	The question of purpose is the fear that life is futile, and Scripture answers it with the whole duty of a person before God.	Christ in the trial: John 4:34 “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.”	5 studies planned, in preparationOpen the subject page it takes in

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