perseverance in trials

I am sure each person has experienced trials of some sort. Maybe you lost your spouse and are navigating the overwhelming grief or maybe you are having a difficult time making ends meet financially. Although these are very different circumstances, both are undeniably difficult. Trials of any kind can leave us feeling hopeless and exhausted, but God calls us to rejoice in our trials. If you are anything like I am, the words “rejoice” and “trials” do not seem like they can coexist. In difficult times I’ve had many questions wondering how I could possibly rejoice in suffering. If you are experiencing a difficult trial, such as a tragic event, difficult diagnosis, chronic illness, or the loss of a loved one, saying to rejoice in those trials may strike a nerve and cause frustration. I understand because I have been there before, too. As Christians, however, we have a firm hope in Jesus that is worth far more than anything we could ever physically possess.

The Bible says, “In all this, you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith- of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire- may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” 1 Peter 1:6-7.

When I think of persevering in trials, I think of the story of Job. I encourage you to read the book of the Bible if you haven’t already, but to summarize, Job was a very rich man who feared God and sought to resist evil. The Lord was pleased with Job, but Satan claimed that Job only feared the Lord because he was wealthy and that if the Lord took everything away from him, Job would not be faithful. The Lord then allowed Satan to test Job, and he was tested with almost every tragic event possible. Job’s sheep and shepherds were killed by fire, and his camels had been stolen by people who also killed his servants. As if losing his workers and animals was not enough, he then lost all his children in a house collapsing from the wind. Job was so overcome by grief that he wished he was dead. In Job 3:25, Job says that his greatest fear has now come true. Yet in all his pain and suffering, he fell to the ground and worshipped God, never blaming Him.

Satan was still not satisfied, however, so he told the Lord that Job would do anything to save his life, but that taking away his health would cause him to stumble in his faith. God allowed Satan to do what he wanted to, but he told Satan he must spare Job’s life. Job then lost his health, becoming afflicted with boils that covered his whole body. Not only had he lost all his possessions and his children, but now he has also experienced great physical suffering. At this point, Job is distraught. He feels like he has no purpose in being alive and that he will never be happy again. To add to the misery he was in, he is afflicted with more emotional devastation as his friends feel like there must be some hidden sin that Job committed that brought the trials down upon him and his family. Job was in an immense, desperate pain, and took his case to God. He pleads with God and God shows up, revealing to Job that His ways are higher than any human can understand.

God ends up condemning Job’s friends for falsely accusing Job, and God instructs Job to pray for his friends. (I can’t imagine how hard it would have been to pray for friends who had been adding so much emotional pain to an already tragic time!). After listening to God and remaining faithful to Him, God rewards Job more than he ever had been before. His brothers, sisters, and former friends consoled him, gave him silver, and they each brought him a gold ring. God gave him even more animals than he had in the beginning, and Job also had seven more sons and three more daughters. Job lived for 140 years after that and was able to see four generations of his family.

After reading the story of Job, I think it’s an understatement to say that Job was faced with many different trials. His perseverance and faithfulness to God, however, carried him through his difficulties and God blessed him in unimaginable ways for it. Although Job could not understand God’s plan, Job was faithful to the Lord through it all.

Thinking about Job’s story, and difficulties in my own life, although not nearly as severe as his, I am reminded that the good things of God can never be taken away from me because they’re not things. God isn’t just good because of what I have and what He gives me, but rather because of who He is and the many beautiful attributes of Him. He is faithful and those who trust Him and follow His lead, despite the difficult circumstances, will be richly rewarded. Whether the reward be seen on this side of heaven or the other, as Christians we know that our faithfulness to God will bless us more than we could ever imagine.

Whatever the difficult circumstance may be, we should fix our eyes on the eternal promises through Christ which will help us walk through the trials we face. Life may be difficult at times, but we do not walk alone. When writing letters to an individual who had endured more pain in her life than I could ever imagine, she wrote: “This journey that I am on is difficult, but I do not walk it alone. I couldn’t”. She often expressed how, without the hope and comfort of Jesus, she would have never been able to get through the many difficulties she endured. This reminds me that although we may face many trials, we can find comfort in the fact that we do not suffer alone, since Christ also suffered and provided an example for us to follow in times of great pain and sorrow (1 Peter 2:21-25).

So, when we face trials of any kind, let’s leave our exhaustion, sorrows, worries, and pains at the foot of the cross and allow Jesus to carry us. For we know that “we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” (Romans 5:4-5).