Some of the material comes from the sermon of St. Alphonsus for the Second Sunday of Advent. “On the Advantages of Tribulations.” (http://traditionalcatholicsermons.org/index_files/StAlphonsus.htm).
God always tests the people that He loves with stress and strife, also known as tribulations. Just ask Job in the Bible. God allowed Satan to throw everything he had at Job and he took it and continued to praise God. We need to be the same way. People say God does not give us more than we can handle. This is true if we ask God for the grace to deal with them and do His will. We must pray that God will give us the grace and that we will use it to deal with the stress, strife and tribulation that He gives us.
Tribulations make us humble and cause us to pray to God more. God likes this, for we can do nothing without Him. We must put our burden on Jesus (Matthew 11:25-30) for His burden is easy and His burden light. We should resign ourselves to His will. Look at all the sufferings the martyrs have for God. These saints suffered horrible deaths, but they glorified God with this pain and death and are now enjoying the vision of God forever in heaven.
Temptations of sins are part of the stress and strife that we suffer. This is the time where we need to pray most to God for help in dealing with them. As with temporal sufferings, the same premise with temptation applies that God does not give us more than we can handle. Tribulations also offer pennace for our sins. God desires our welfare when He gives us tribulation. Jesus’ life was full of them. We gain advantages from tribulations. Those who live in prosperity do not know where they stand with God. We build merits to heaven when we deal with the tribulations, stresses and strife of the day.
I know God is testing my patience with stress and strife that I may give glory back to Him by dealing with them. When I lose my cool becuase of stress, I know I have failed the test and think of God and how I failed His test. Dealing with stress and strife has been difficult, but writing this piece, I hope, will help me and you deal with them.
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