Trials Produce Steadfastness

I recently taught a class that dealt with the subject of trials and how trials produce endurance. Endurance must finish its work so that we can be spiritually mature. I have been pondering how our perseverance through trials makes us mature and complete. In doing so I looked at the opposite. What does it mean if I am not steadfast; if I give up before the work is done in me? I think that is what we often do. The heat is turned up and we want to jump out of the furnace.

You mean we have a choice?

Yes. We can choose to stay in the trial and trust God or jump out. Now I can just hear some of you saying: ”I can’t jump out of my trial. I am stuck.” If you can’t physically jump out you can mentally check out. You can choose not to trust God or choose to believe that He doesn’t care about your hardship. One way or the other you can choose to jump out. But the Lord wants us to stick with Him through it. He is growing in you faith, endurance, patience and most of all teaching you to trust Him. Every time we trust God with our trial something transforming happens to us. We become more like Christ. And that should always be our goal.

A few months ago, I was at Walmart just after a stabbing occurred and a young man died. As I approached the store I ran right into the family who were distraught and weeping. I prayed with them and I realized that there is no way we can escape suffering. It is all around us. This week my friend’s daughter committed suicide. Heartbreaking— the worst kind of suffering. And I ask myself the question: ”Why Lord?"

Suffering is not without purpose

When we suffer we do not suffer, as children of God, without a purpose. The enemy, the world, and sometimes our own body cause us to suffer. As I said there is no way we can escape it. But it is what we do with our suffering that counts. God may not remove the pain but He will be with you through it and when we cross the finish line of steadfastness in the faith– when we learn to trust God in the midst of pain, something beautiful happens. He draws us close and He puts His imprint on our lives. It is His image in us that makes us beautiful.