Hebrews 11:32-40 / Mark 5:1-20
It is a fact of life that no one is immune to the trials and tribulations of life.
But
it is through trials and tribulations that one comes to a
self-realization and becomes more resilient to the difficulties and
hardships of life.
And it is also through trials and tribulations that one comes to realize who God is and how much one needs His help.
The
1st reading gave some names of those who had gone through trials and
tribulations: Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the
prophets.
But of course these are just only some of the Bible characters, and there are even more prominent ones that we can think of.
And there are also those who are not named, like the man who had the legion of demons expelled from him.
That man had gone through trials and tribulations and after he was healed, he wanted to follow Jesus.
He had realized who God is and how God had helped him out of his trial and tribulation.
And
now he had a mission from Jesus - he is to go back to his people and
tell of all that the Lord in His mercy had done for him.
So when we had to undergo a trial or tribulation, let us not sink into distress and despair.
Rather
let us be prepared for something great to happen. Because we are going
to know who we are and who God is and the wonders that He is going to
work through us.