Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
James 1:12 (ESV)
The other day a woman said to me, “I thought following Christ meant life would be easier. But it hasn’t been.” Our problem is that we tend to perceive trials as an interruption to our plans, a hindrance to our forward momentum. Because our thinking is flawed. The moment we recognize that trials are part and parcel of living in a fallen world, and we affirm that God is good – His nature and His purpose – then we must concede that everything God allows into our lives is intended to perfect us.
Joni Eareckson Tada understands this truth. After a diving accident that paralyzed her from the neck down, she pleaded with God to heal her. Yet God chose a different path for her. She says, “While the devil’s motive in my disability was to shipwreck my faith by throwing a wheelchair in my way, I’m convinced that God’s motive was to thwart the devil and use the wheelchair to change me and make me more like Christ through it all.” (1)
A trouble-free life has never been a part of God’s promise to us. Peter makes that abundantly clear when he says, “Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12). What He did promise is that we will not be overcome and will never walk through trials alone (Isaiah 43:1-2).
Are you walking through a time of testing? Press on, my friend. Those trials meant to harm you? God will use them to grow you.
(1) Joni Eareckson Tada, “God’s Plan A,” in Be Still, My Soul: Embracing God’s Purpose and Provision in Suffering, ed. Nancy Guthrie(Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010), pg 33.