This train stopping anytime soon?

When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer. (Corrie Ten Boom)

God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. (James 1:12 NLT)

The 'trial train' is not one any of us actually purchases a ticket for, is it? We might be 'gifted' a ticket or taken for a ride on it without being fully aware of where it was headed when we boarded it, but we seldom actually step forward and buy the ticket for that train ride! We 'ride' because it is very hard to actually jump off it unscathed!

The 'trial train' comes without notice, not really keeping a schedule. It just 'shows up' unannounced and we seem to be 'herded' onto it like cattle going to the slaughterhouse. Weather unwittingly boarding that train, or having made a conscious decision to board, we are on it for the long haul. Trials will come, hard times will challenge us, and commitments will be tried.

As Corrie indicated, the tunnels can be long, and they can be quite dark on that 'ride'. They don't have to be the breaking point for us, though. We can find peace in knowing there is an 'engineer' on that train that won't let it derail and who knows the destination. For most of the ride we might have endured the 'less than desirable' conditions, but in the darkest places and where the destination doesn't seem all that clear, we might begin to question what is happening.

Trusting God with our lives at the point of saying 'yes' to him that first time was likely easier than trusting him with those moments when all hell seems to be set against us. It isn't that we aren't grateful for his grace, it is that we are frightened by the unknown of the ride. We begin to doubt if he is actually our 'engineer'. You can trust me on this one - he who began a good work within you will be sure to take it to full completion!

The engineer didn't abandon you. He might be silent in those dark hours, but we can trust he is still 'navigating' us through those tunnels, twists, and turns of what seems to be a long, arduous ride to get off that 'trial train'. Just sayin!