The darkness of trials only makes God’s grace shine brighter.

试炼越大，恩典越多。

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask of God, who gives generously to all without finding fault.

 James 1:5

你们中间若有缺少智慧的，应当求那厚赐与众人、也不斥责人的上帝，主就必赐给他。-雅各书1章5节

On April 4, 1968, American civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was assassinated, leaving millions angry and disillusioned. In Indianapolis, a largely African-American crowd had gathered to hear Robert F. Kennedy speak. Many had not yet heard of Dr. King’s death, so Kennedy had to share the tragic news. He appealed for calm by acknowledging not only their pain but his own abiding grief over the murder of his brother, President John F. Kennedy.

Kennedy then quoted a variation of an ancient poem by Aeschylus (526–456 bc):

在1968年4月4日，美国黑人民权运动领袖马丁·路德·金恩博士遇刺身亡，让数百万人极其悲愤、理想破灭。那天在印第安纳州首府，罗伯特·甘迺迪正准备对大批美国黑人群众发表演说，当时许多人尚未听闻金恩博士的死讯，所以尽管可能引起骚乱，罗伯特仍决定宣布这个噩耗。他请大家保持冷静，并藉着自己对哥哥甘迺迪总统被刺杀的哀伤，与众人同感悲痛。

Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.

接着，罗伯特引用希腊悲剧之父埃斯库罗斯的诗句：即使在睡梦中，无法忘怀的伤痛，仍点滴落心头，令我们感到绝望。直到因上帝浩大恩典而来的智慧，以意想不到的方式临到我们。

“Wisdom through the awful grace of God” is a remarkable statement. It means that God’s grace fills us with awe and gives us the opportunity to grow in wisdom during life’s most difficult moments.

「因上帝浩大恩典而来的智慧」是精辟的描述，意思是上帝的恩典不但让我们赞叹，还让我们在人生最困难的时刻，仍有机会在智慧中成长。

James wrote, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask of God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you” (James 1:5). James says that this wisdom is grown in the soil of hardship (vv. 2-4), for there we not only learn from the wisdom of God, we rest in the grace of God.

雅各写道：「你们中间若有缺少智慧的，应当求那厚赐与众人、也不斥责人的上帝，主就必赐给他」（雅各书1章5节）。雅各告诉我们，这样的智慧是在艰苦的土壤中发芽生长（2-4节），我们不仅从上帝的智慧中学习，更是在上帝的恩典中歇息。

Father, in the face of life’s sometimes awful circumstances,

may we find Your grace to be a source of awe and wonder.

 Instruct us in our trials, and carry us in Your arms

when we are overwhelmed.

天父，让我们在困境中能看到祢令人惊叹的奇妙恩典。
求祢在试炼中指教我们，以祢的双臂扶持我们。

整理：于姊妹