You may be saying at this point, “God sure expects a lot from us in our trials.” He does, but there is nothing God expects that He has not supplied us with the power to accomplish. And best of all, we can trust God to bring us through our trials. Sometimes we just need the proper motivation to hang in there and triumph over trials.
Speaking of the proper motivation, I heard about a man who was walking home late one chilly, rainy night. He was so tired and cold that he decided to take a shortcut through the town cemetery. Unfortunately, he didn’t see an open grave and he fell headlong into the hole. He panicked, clawing at the sides of the grave and hollering for help. But after a while, it became apparent that no one was around and he couldn’t get enough of a grip to climb out. He was so exhausted that he huddled down in one side of the grave and fell asleep.
As it turned out, another man was walking through the cemetery in the wee hours of the morning. He also fell into the same open grave and, like the first man, began yelling for help and trying to climb out. His shouts woke the first man, who was hidden from sight in the darkness. The first man reached out, laid a cold, clammy hand on the second man and said “Forget it, brother. You’ll never make it. I’ve been trying to get out of here for hours.” But the second man made it out.

– There is a Great Cloud Above Us –

With the proper motivation, we can do almost anything. The recipients of the letter of Hebrews needed the right motivation in their trials, which is why the author went through God’s Hall of Faith in chapter 11 and pointed to some of the Old Testament examples of people who won out over their trials with God’s help. Then the author came back with his best words of encouragement, motivation and admonition in Hebrews 12:1-3.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross,scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

The point of Hebrews 12:1 is that if God could keep His eye on Abraham when he left everything he knew to move to a strange land and live in tents, then God won’t lose track of you. If God could sustain Moses when he left the pleasures and wealth of Egypt for the life of a lowly shepherd, then God can sustain you. You are not out there by yourself. Men and women of God have been living by faith in some of the most trying of circumstances, and since Jesus is the same today as He was yesterday, we can trust Him to keep us by His power. You can trust God in your trials.

Thanks for listening!
– Lilly and Todd