Christian life

Why God Allows Trials: Biblical Truth Revealed

I don’t know about you, but my first response to trials is to want out. Human beings don’t like discomfort or pain at all, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It points to a reality they are longing for, a reality that existed before the Fall. We all long for a place of perfect peace, rest, and zero trials. That reality is coming for those who have placed their lives in Christ. While we remain on this side of heaven, we live in a fallen world and will face various trials. In the New Testament, we meet James, who, in his letter, boldly tells us to rejoice in our trials. “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds…” (James 1:2, ESV).

Wait, what? Was James a sadist to tell us to enjoy pain and discomfort? Remember, James is speaking to believers in Christ Jesus. Why would he tell them to rejoice in their trials? What did he know about trials that would lead him to exhort believers to do so? In this article, I will exhort you through the book of James and show why trials are a blessing in disguise.

The Reality of Trials

James doesn’t shy away from acknowledging that this is a fallen world, and trials are inevitable. He says we will face various trials, nor should we deny that reality. “For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness” (James 1:3, ESV). Denying that trials exist or being aloof from them is a path to sure misery, because as certain as the dawn is, the trial before you will come.

James knows that trials are hard, and in his salutation, he says the believers he is writing to are in dispersion, dispersed due to the persecution of the church. “To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings.” (James 1:1, ESV). He doesn’t minimise the reality of trials, and neither should we. My encouragement is that when you are met with a trial, the noble thing is first to acknowledge it.

Someone once said that a Christian is either in a trial, coming out of one, or about to enter another—and the cycle continues.

Why God Uses Them

The meat of this article is to explore why God uses trials in our lives and why James tells us to rejoice in them. Many analogies are used to explain the purpose of our trials, one of which I find particularly helpful: the process of making gold. We know gold is of great value, but it undergoes extreme heating to become that precious. The apostle Peter tells us that our faith is even more precious than gold. “So that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:7, ESV).

A black woman seated holding her head in her living room who is in distress because of her trials in life.

James invites us to see that God uses trials to grow our faith, which is more precious than gold. The process of change is not smooth and painless. Sanctification is often painful, but it’s precious. In this process, God is weaning us from our residual patterns of our old sinful nature, shaping us to become like His Son, Jesus Christ! “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son…” (Romans 8:29, ESV). The end of trials is glorious, and that’s why James tells us to rejoice in them because of what trials will produce in us.

He doesn’t ask us to rejoice in the trial itself. No, we are to weep and groan over the trials in this fallen world, and rightfully so, because for the believer, this is not our home. However, because of what the Lord produces through trials, this should bring us great joy. That perspective helps us to persevere through the trials. This begs the question: If this is the end goal of trials, how do we get to a place where we can rejoice?

The Way to Rejoice in Trials

The way to rejoice in what trials will produce is determined by how we respond to them. Do we run away? Do we become angry at God? Do we turn and blame others for our pain? Sinful responses are endless because the heart is deceitful. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9, ESV).

Our response makes all the difference! In our trials, we must turn to God and press into Him.

We trust Him for comfort and guidance. We pour our hearts before Him. “Pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.” (Psalm 62:8, ESV). We pursue Godly ways to resolve our troubles. We earnestly pray for His deliverance from our trials. We fix our eyes on Him and persevere by His grace, knowing that He is working all things for our good. “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28, ESV).

We walk the path that our Lord Jesus walked, enduring our trials with humility and hope in our God, who is with us even in the valley of the shadow of death. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4, ESV) I’ll conclude by inviting you to renew your mind with what Scripture says about trials and their end goal.

Flip the coin of your trial and see, by faith, the glorious change you’ll experience in Christ.

Endure, looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith. “Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2, ESV).

It’s not about when you come out of the trial, but who you become in the process. My hope and prayer are that you and I mature in our faith and become more like Christ.

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