The Purposes of Trials – Part Two

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© www.godsbreathpublications.com

 

One thing for sure in this life, we will face trials. They are hard, difficult and often overwhelming. The big question we ask in such situations is, “Why is this happening!” It helps sometimes to know why a trial has come into our life. It can give some purpose and reason for the struggle we strive to endure. So let’s examine some possible purposes that God may have in the trials He allows to come into our lives. As we look on these godly purposes for trials, we must understand that sometimes trials may come for more than one reason, and this is all designed and allowed by God who gives us sufficient resources to endure and overcome anything we might face in life.

 

Purpose Six

Trials come to teach us to value God’s blessings.

 

We often appreciate things we have when we have to live without them. We can also appreciate things by comparison. When we compare the blessings of God to the trials we face, we come to grow in our love for Him and for how He sustains us in the trials with His love and provision. Our human reasoning often tells us to grab the things in the world that will bring us pleasure or power. Our senses and emotions tell us to value and seek the desires of the body. But faith in God stimulates us to value God’s Word as well as our relationship with Him more. Out of our obedience to His Word in the midst of a trial combined with a sustained faith and trust in Him, we learn to value the blessings of God which are often not tangible in physical form. The blessings of God are experienced in our heart, mind and soul as we sense Him working in our lives, ministering to us during our hardships and as He builds our maturity in Christ. Psalms 63:3-8 communicates some of this when it says, “Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.” When we are sustained by God during a trial or hardship we come to value the honor and blessing He bestows upon us for remaining faithful to His Word and trusting in His love. Christ was honored for His obedience to His Heavenly Father and the ministry He was called to do. Two scripture passages speak of Christ’s suffering and His reward or blessing for enduring His hardship. Hebrews 5:7-10 states, “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.” Then in Philippians 2:8-9 it says, “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,” Both these passages communicate to us that out of obedience during a struggle the blessings of God are received and appreciated as an eternal reward. Without the struggle and appropriate obedience, such blessing would never be given or received. So when we face a trial or storm of life as we faithfully remain steadfast in our trust in the love of God, we can value the blessings He bestows upon us. James 1:12 validates the blessing of reward when enduring a trial when it says, “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”

 

Purpose Seven

Trials come to enable us to help others.

 

While we can minister as followers of Christ to those who are dealing with an intense trial, there is even greater impact and depth to our ability to minister when we have gone through a similar hardship. This does not mean we seek out hardships or place ourselves in harms way so we can help others. But it does mean that when a trial falls upon us, one possible purpose of such an experience is that God will be able to use us more effectively in the future to help someone with the same trial. No one can relate to the depth of emotion involved in losing a young child as well as another parent who has suffered such a loss. When a person experiences a spouse who is unfaithful or who divorces them, it can be of immense help to them to be ministered to by a strong Christian who has survived a similar experience. Love and empathy can always be expressed towards people facing a horrible trial, but there is always a deeper appreciation by that person if the love and empathy comes from someone who has walked through a similar storm of life. They know for sure that the person who is showing them the love of Christ and giving them godly advice has lived out the same trauma and has been able to cope because God walked with them. Jesus faced Satan in the wilderness and was tempted in many ways. You might say He was “sifted like wheat” and Jesus’ victory over this temptation and trial gave Him credibility when He spoke with Peter about a coming trial. In Luke 22:31-32 Jesus says to Peter, “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” This situation of trial for Peter would be a turning point in his life and ministry for Christ. While Peter failed in his trust in Christ, he returned to his dedication to the Lord and very likely the words spoken by Jesus gave him a blessing and encouragement to respond to the advice and overcome his failure. Jesus wished to encourage Peter to turn back from his failure and encourage his Christian brothers after his trial by Satan was over. Peter did this and became a strong and courageous defender for the gospel and led thousands to the faith. So be encouraged if you face a trial, there is a possibility that while it seems almost unbearable and very unpleasant, God will use this in the future to minister to someone in a similar situation. This will bring meaning to the struggle you face and bring you pleasure in the future when you help someone through a similar trial.

 

Purpose Eight

Trials come to develop enduring strength.

 

English Puritan Thomas Manton stated, “While all things are quiet and comfortable, we live by sense rather than faith. But the worth of a soldier is never known in times of peace.” His point is that in comfortable quiet times we can find ourselves coasting in our faith and possibly even resting on our laurels of past spiritual victories. It is when a battle comes that our true worth is proven and tested. As we endure the hardship, the strength of our faith increases and we find out what we are made of and who is at the center of our life. There’s a comical saying, “Christians are like teabags, you find out what really is in them when they get in hot water.” The implication is that, just like a teabag in hot water will reveal what is within the teabag, when a Christian is in a difficult trial, Christ who is in them and the Holy Spirit who helps them will be manifest in their lives and expose the strong commitment to our Heavenly Father. The strength of our faith is tempered and purified as a precious metal in a hot refinery. Trials will purge us of impurities and refine our faith and improve our spiritual strength. James 1:2-4 tells us, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” I am a recreational bicyclist and love to take long bike rides. But the longer rides, 45-65 miles or more have to be prepared for by regular rides of increasing length and testing. You can’t just jump on your bike after sitting for 3 months and succeed at completing a 65+ bike ride. You must build your strength and endurance by ever increasing long rides with many hills of steep grades. Once this “training” is done then you develop endurance and strength to be able to complete the more strenuous rides. It works the same in our spiritual lives. The more you are tested by trials and hardships and respond in a godly manner, your faith and spiritual endurance are strengthened and your faith is matured.

 

Purpose Nine

Trials come to drive us to God.

 

Trials can be permitted to come into our lives to drive us to seek the Lord. It would be God’s preference that we would just naturally seek Him first in all matters of life, but often we view Him as the last resort or at least further from our first choice. This is why He will sometimes allow a trial to fall upon us, in order to drive us to Him. We tend to seek our own way most of the time or seek the advice of those who will tell us what we want to hear rather than our Heavenly Father. Sometimes the only way we turn to God is because a trial has brought us to our knees in prayer. King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4 faced such a situation. He was full of pride and did not seek God so God caused him to live and act like an animal and eat grass. Daniel 4:34 states that, “At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever.” Now this doesn’t mean that God will cause you to live like an animal if you’re not seeking Him in your life. But it does present a possibility that He may allow a trial to manifest in your life to cause you to seek Him. When we fail to seek God and are on a path of destruction or wandering into a lifestyle that would dishonor Him, He may choose to allow a trial to come to wake us up and cause us to take an about turn back to Him. 1 Chronicles 22:19 tells us, “Now set your mind and heart to seek the Lord your God.” Colossians 3:1-2 says, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” 1 Chronicles 28:9 assures us, “If you seek Him, He will be found by you.” Many a non-believer has come to faith, because a trial was used by God to cause them to seek the Lord. The same can be true of a believer at times.

 

Purpose Ten

Trials come as discipline for disobedience.

 

God is a true perfect spiritual parent and wishes us to be mature in how we live and responsible in how we respond to Him in our relationship with Him. Sometimes we can be rebellious to God and need to be disciplined. Hebrews 12:5-11 addresses this situation when it says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.” Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” A true loving parent must discipline their children in some fashion if there is disobedience. This sets boundaries for growth to adulthood. God can at times use trials for similar purposes in our spiritual lives. He wants us to mature in our faith while we seek Him, serve others and grow in our faith. Discipline wakes us up and serves to teach us that disobedience is wrong and we need to repent and change the course of our life. Godly discipline comes from the deep love God has for us as His spiritual children. Revelation 3:19 states, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent,” God’s discipline is fair, appropriate, truly needed, perfect and motivated by His “agape” love. There is a reason discipline is unpleasant, but it is beneficial when it turns us from wicked ways, a dangerous path or from becoming a dishonorable ungodly person.

 

Remember that there are numerous reasons for trials that come into your life, but one thing for sure, God can turn them to good, He will walk by your side and you will emerge a better person on the other side. Storms of life last only for a season. Remember, Psalms 119:76 “May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant.” God walks with you always!