Are You At Peace During a Severe Trial？ — Tim Conway

Peace of Christ in Severe Trials

Ladies and gentlemen, when you get into a really difficult place and all of a sudden you find the peace of Christ, that carries you through. You see, it's testing. Because the guy that gets into the difficulty in life, the test.

Testing the Foundation of Faith

What is the test? Testing. The test is testing what exactly happens to you when you get in the test. Does that peace grip you? Are you stable? Is your faith locked in? Is there something foundational underneath you?

That's what a test is. It proves the very character and nature of your Christianity. What's going on? People who fall away when they're tested, they can't find this peace. What happens? They get in the midst of the trial and they're unhappy.

Christianity on Our Own Terms

They're frustrated. They're uncertain. They're fearful. And you know what they want to do? They want to control things. You get the person, oh yeah, when everything looked really good, when everything about Christianity, yeah, this is really good.

But you see, it's like they want it on their own terms. Oh no, I didn't sign up for this. Well, if God's going to do this, I'm checking out of here. Folks, what about you and your walk? I mean, this is what we need to ask.

Crisis as a Test of Faith

What's it like in a crisis? Because the thing is we all have these theories. We all have these systems. We all have these ideologies. I mean, it's great when the birds are singing and the sun's shining out there and you've got money in the bank account and everything is good.

Then we have all of our theories about Christianity. Yeah, what happens when it gets hard? And I'm talking really hard. Like God comes and takes something away from you that you just don't feel like you can live without.

Suffering, Loss, and Christian Endurance

Your health, your spouse, your child. What happens when things get really hard? What happens when you lose your job? Difficult. What then? This is the test. Are you able in the midst of it to find a comfort?

The Peace That Surpasses Understanding

To remain untroubled? Do you know a peace that passes understanding? That's how the Scripture talks about it. Are you helped by your form of Christianity? That's what we're asking. I mean, you feel like there's very little that provides such a thorough test of our faith.

Faith Triumphant in the Midst of Trial

It's one thing to say we believe. It's another thing in the midst of the trial to see our faith triumphant and victorious and we come out in a state of joy. I mean, look, if you've been a Christian any amount of time, I'm not talking about something you don't relate to here.

You get in that difficulty and it's like, wow, God is real in the midst of this. I can lay my head down. I can go to sleep. I'm not going to be afraid.

This excerpt is taken from the full sermon, What Does Jesus Mean? My Peace I Give to You, by Tim Conway. You can listen to the full message on illbehonest .com.