What Do Trials Accomplish?

This may sound funny, but I’ve come to the point where I believe trials can be some of our best friends. Why? Because the Lord uses them to teach us, train us, and help us grow in ways we can’t on our own.

In fact, James 1:2-3 tells us to Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience (AMPC).

Trials and suffering don’t originate from God, but He will use them to make us stronger and help us enjoy a more peaceful, stable, and fulfilling life.

Trials Help Us to Grow Spiritually

For years I prayed for God to make my ministry grow. I certainly enjoyed teaching a Bible study in my home, but the Lord had given me a big vision and I wanted it to come to pass immediately!

I had the gift to teach, just like I do today, however I wasn’t mature enough yet to handle everything I was asking for.

For our own good, the Lord won’t bless our circumstances beyond the level of our maturity spiritually. Just like we wouldn’t give a 10-year-old the keys to a new sports car, God isn’t going to prematurely give us something that will harm us.

Trials cause us to develop into the person we want to be. When we encounter a situation that’s “over our head,” it helps us to place our dependence on Him, knowing we can’t solve all of our own problems.

The Lord wants us to become stable and mature...to reach the point where we’re not blown over by every storm in life. He wants us to have joy and contentment in Him, even when our circumstances aren’t perfect (Nehemiah 8:10).

Just like diamonds are formed under great pressure, God often uses the difficulties in our lives to humble us, develop our character, transform us into His image...and prepare us for the good things He has for our future.

Trials Help Us to Trust

There’s tremendous freedom in trusting God. When something’s not going our way, instead of getting upset or offended, we can trust that He has a plan that’s better than ours and He will ultimately work out the situation for good (Romans 8:28).

We need to understand this because sometimes when we’re having trouble, we can get offended at God or even at other people who are being blessed. We can have a self-righteous attitude that says, “Well, I’m a better Christian than you are. I deserve those blessings.”

For example, maybe you want a promotion at work but someone else receives it instead. What should you do?

You can get offended, self-righteous and really hurt yourself spiritually. Or you can trust God and say, “Lord, if this is where You want me right now, then I’m going to serve my boss with a smile on my face. And I know if You want to put me somewhere else, You can do it in Your perfect timing.”

I’ve learned that God is smarter than we are! Sometimes He puts off giving us what we want because He has a different purpose in mind—something better than what we could have imagined.

For instance, many times the Lord has allowed me to go through things the hard way. Sometimes it has been extremely difficult, especially when I watched other people receive breakthroughs in the same areas more quickly.

But when God allows me to walk this path, He wants me to experience and understand what people are going through so I can relate to their pain and help them walk through it successfully.

If it wasn’t for the difficult times in my life—circumstances the Lord used to help me grow and change—I certainly wouldn’t be able to help the number of people I do today!

God never promised us a trouble-free life, but He does promise to never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). In the hard times, we can take comfort knowing that He loves us tremendously, He has His eye on us, and He is already working behind the scenes to help us (Romans 8:38-39; Psalm 33:18).

Whatever you may be going through right now, I encourage you to hang in there and not give up. Make a decision to keep a good attitude and continue to place your trust in God. Because He’s the One who can take your mess...and turn it into a miracle.