Our Lord God is a storehouse of solutions. There is nothing that goes beyond Him. He is a God of full knowledge and of power that men cannot measure. When He created man, the earth and everything in it, He did it with the intent to govern them with perfection. He does not miss a thing; neither does He neglect. He is God who longs to bless His people when they unconditionally obey Him. There is nothing hidden from Him. Everything that happens and will happen to a person He is already aware. He uses the lives of His children as a tool to let the world know that with Him there is unending wisdom and absolute justice. So, He lets them strive in the world. And “then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment” 2 Pet. 2:9).
Our striving in the world is by the temptations or trials we face. There is little freedom to walk in this world without enduring its sinful nature and the consequences of its sinful nature. The enduring of every trial is a suffering that pressures us to disengage from faith. When we overcome them, there will be positive results. Then, our first priority is to live godly. For in it alone the Lord takes the opportunity to rescue us from the trials we face. When the Spirit says He knows how to rescue us from temptation, it has an inherent wisdom. It is to patiently wait upon Him or persevere till He provides a way of escape. This allows Him to perform His wonderful work in us that produces an effective outcome for Him as well as for us. The Spirit has established that He knows how to rescue us from temptation. Again, through Paul, He elsewhere says that the Lord will not allow us to be tempted beyond our ability. This then is all the confidence we need of Him. It says He does not desire we endlessly suffer and perish.
If we still need confidence regarding His intent for us, look at the second part in Peter’s discourse. The Lord punishes them for the time of judgment. Peter speaks using the case of Lot in Sodom and Gomorrah. When the Lord punished the unrighteous, they were kept under punishment that they would know the reason for being punished on the Day of Judgment. But in our case, because we were saved by grace, He desires we do not perish and rescues us from temptation. So, we have confidence made known to us twice. Trials came upon Lot that he should disengage himself from faith. But when he persevered trusting the Lord to rescue him, he eventually prevailed. The Lord did not allow him to suffer temptation beyond his ability. When Christians face trials and fall, it is because they did not persevere and not because they were tempted beyond their ability. Had they trusted the Lord or known how to trust Him, they would be rescued. Christian life is based on trusting the Lord in all things, i.e. in every single matter. When the Scripture says He knows how to rescue the godly from temptation and Christians fall for temptations, they have not allowed Him to exercise His knowledge. Some trials can inflict us so deep that our flesh shows us the way to succumb to them. But, as the Spirit says, if they are not any more than what is common to man and we believed, we have known the Lord will surely rescue us. In fact, this was the knowledge in men like Job and David that made them to prevail eventually.
What is the measure of our ability to restrain trials? It is our trust in the Lord. It is not something that is built in an instance or something that is instantly given to us in huge amounts to persevere. It is an act of continual dependence on the Lord. The basis for having a firm trust in Him is walking uprightly before Him. As we do it, we form an intimate relationship with Him where we come to know His firm desire for us, i.e. we should not endlessly suffer. Now, when trials come in various forms and in varying degrees, we have something to stand on and endure. While facing trials we should always be aware of one thing: God knows what He intends to do. The best way to accept this is to seek Him. We will find comfort. Then, we believe He acts for us. He will send His Spirit to enlighten us from the Word that which He wants us to know. An example for comfort is seen in the following: “and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, WHO CREATED HEAVEN AND THE THINGS IN IT, AND THE EARTH AND THE THINGS IN IT, AND THE SEA AND THE THINGS IN IT, that there will be delay no longer” (Rev. 10:6).
Our Lord is the God who communicates with His people. This is the underlying idea in having an intimate relationship with Him. He guides us through our trials. Therefore, even in suffering we will find the ability to rejoice. Knowing that He will actually redeem us gives nothing, but comfort. It helps us to look for the joy we are to receive. It is like a woman with child that knows her joy will not be delayed, because of the fixed time of her pain. Yes, the Lord fixes the time of our trials. As much as He allows them into our life, He also sets duration for them. This then implies He has a solution that we prevail. Hence, we ought to trust Him. He is a God with all knowledge to rescue us from any temptation. It is He who created the heaven, the earth, the sea and all things in them. The Creator has control over everything. “(as it is written, “A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE YOU”) in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist” (Rom. 4:17).
As we already know, God has a glorious purpose for each one of us. So, trusting Him in times of trials will help us see the unimaginable things of God. We have to trust Him at all times, but much more when facing temptations, because there is a greater chance of falling. When we realize what He is capable of, i.e. to give life to the dead and call into being that which does not exist, what impossibilities are there to God? To give life to the dead is beyond our comprehension and to call into being that which never existed is superhuman. His abilities are so beyond our thinking that trusting Him alone will suffice in times of trials. But when we are not prompt to trust Him, we fall. Even the strong or mature in the Lord fall when they are slow to trust Him. We should always bear in mind that the Lord desires to come to our rescue in times of trials. Hence, the Spirit chose Peter to say He knows how to rescue the godly from trails. For Peter was aware of what the Lord did for him and his brethren. “Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were utterly astonished” (Mark 6:51).
The Lord saw from afar that the disciples were suffering against the wind. He did not abandon them, but came to them and rescued them. He, who is the Creator of all things, controlled the creation for the sake of His people. The result was joy preceded by utter astonishment. This is exactly how the Lord works. He uses our trials to bond with us. When we face them, He is aware. And the work He performs to rescue us will be nothing short of amazement, because we know that if it wasn’t for Him, there would not be relief. Therefore, joy encompasses us. Our trust in the Lord grows further and we are inevitably built to face various trials, if at all we should face them. We even begin to see the rejoicing aspect when facing them, as we know how it would end. This is true for it is written, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12).
Since we have received Him, i.e. trusted Him, He bestowed on us the right to become God’s children. God never abandons His children. Instead, He keeps them to Himself to give them all the things He desired for them. When we are given the right to become His children, we obtained the privilege of trusting Him and seeking Him for all matters. That right makes us infallible to fulfill His purpose for us. So, He keeps rescuing us in His knowledge. “When Peter came to himself, he said, ‘Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting’” (Acts 12:11). How amazing must it have been for Peter to be rescued in the manner He was! There are very many trials that we as God’s children will face and yet, the Lord has that many ways to rescue us.
So, when you face trials, trust the Lord that His desire to come to your rescue is fulfilled. You will see joy, relief and satisfaction. You will have become a better person spiritually. You will see good things in life along with handing defeat to the one who inflicted you to disengage you from faith. The Lord works amazingly for you that you should be called the child of God. When He does it, bear this in mind: “And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain” (2 Cor. 6:1).