The Apostle Peter tells us that our character is tested through what he called “the fiery trial,” and that we should not be surprised when it happens to us (1 Peter 4:12). The “trials and tribulations” of life are something that, although unpleasant, happen to all of us. The question that all people – and especially those who trust in the message of the Bible – ask is, why does this have to happen? The scriptures tell us that God uses trials and tribulations for a reason.
James, the writer of what might be the most practically useful book in the New Testament, tells us to “consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2-4). While James’ enthusiasm for trials and tribulations (considering them “pure joy”) goes well beyond my level of appreciation for life’s hard times, he does make the point that the tough times lead to perseverance, which in turn leads to a maturity of faith and a “completeness” of the whole individual that might not be attained in any other way.
There have been more than a few times when I have asked God for a “Plan B” regarding a life lesson. But I think most of us will admit that God’s “Plan A” is the best plan to accomplish the task of worthwhile learning. A few verses later, James tells us that the trials and tribulations of life have eternal value: “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him” (James 1:12). I will address the “eternal value” of trials and tribulations in more detail later in this article.
Let’s now look at what Paul has to say about trials and tribulations. Although he had a lot to say concerning this topic, for the sake of space let me offer just two verses: “We glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Romans 5:3-4). Paul, like James, tells us that trials and tribulations produce perseverance – agreeing completely with James – which in turn leads to character, which in turn produces hope. I propose that “character and hope” is no different from “maturity and completeness.” A person who is spiritually mature and complete is generally characterized by his or her character – that is to say, moral fiber, virtue, and integrity – and they are generally far more hopeful than a spiritually unengaged person.
James and Paul are in total agreement concerning the purpose and value of life’s tough times. (Once again, Paul like James is way more enthusiastic about trials and tribulations than I am: I am not sure that I have ever “experienced glory” in my sufferings, at least not at the time! I am a work in progress, however.)
Finally, let’s look at what Peter says about this topic: “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). Peter is telling us that trials and tribulations produce a genuineness of faith. At this point we should ask the question, what does a genuine faith look like?
I contend that a genuine faith is characterized by maturity, completeness, character (moral fiber and virtuous integrity) and hope beyond the ordinary; in other words, what James and Peter described above. (I would be remiss if I failed to mention that Peter, like James and Paul, also seems to be overly excited about the prospect of suffering through the hard times! It seems that all three of these biblical writers recognized the great value of God’s tough lessons, appreciating the chance to learn through suffering.)
The coexistence of God and suffering is a dilemma for skeptics, however. They are quick to question suffering, since Christians claim that God is love (1 John 4:8) and they genuinely want to know why a loving God would allow his creation to suffer so much at times.
Typically, skeptics offer a few reasons for this conundrum: (1) If God exists, he would have done something about our suffering. Since we still suffer, God does not exist. (2) God does not care about us. (3) God is powerless to fix the problem of suffering. (4) Maybe God is both uncaring and powerless to address the problem, which would be doubly bad news for humankind. However, not being spiritually focused (1 Corinthians 2:14), they miss the point described above: God uses trials and tribulations to build us into the people that he wants us to become. (As much as I would love to run with a defense against these skeptical points, space prevents me from doing so. Just know that there are overly convincing rebuttals to all these accusations.)
In my first book, Worldviews in Collision, I devote a chapter to the issue of suffering. I describe God’s “soul-building” program as follows: “Suffering exists for the purpose of exercising our ability to make proper moral choices and to teach us valuable lessons to build our moral character and bring us more in line with how God intended us to be. Only by struggling against the evils of this world can we develop ourselves to be more like Christ. Christian philosopher Jim Spiegel notes, “Our trials and afflictions do serve a good purpose, the betterment of our souls.”” Compared to bodybuilding, “soul-building” can be a lot more stressful! (Of course, they both have value, as Paul notes in 1 Timothy 4:7-8).
Let me discuss two other reasons why God likely uses trials and tribulations for the betterment of our being. (I am going to avoid the popular “free will explanation” which is readily found in a plethora of books and online articles.) I believe that God uses our past suffering to help those in need now. Let me offer you one example from my own experience.
A few years back I worked part-time as a hospice chaplain. (Prior to entering ministry, I enjoyed a 36-year career as a radiation therapist and frequently worked with terminally ill patients, so my hospice ministry was a natural outgrowth of my radiation therapy career.) I visited an older lady who lived with her grandson, a wonderful young man who took great care of his ailing grandmother. He called me to say that she had recently had a pacemaker-defibrillator inserted, and she was emotionally struggling with this situation.
As it turns out, I also have the same device, the result of an arrhythmia that runs in my family. (My heart paces itself, but it was placed after my initial cardiac event and before my surgeries to correct the problem, but I don’t like it any more than the lady I was asked to visit did.) As a result of all that I had gone through cardiac-wise, and sharing the same experience of having a pacemaker-defibrillator insertion, I was able to connect with this lady and ease her fears and anxiety considerably. I was able to see immediately that God used my trials and tribulations in this specific area to help this lady in her great time of need.
Finally, our trials and tribulations may be used by God to prepare us for the life to come. Paul wrote these words to the Church in Corinth: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So, we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).
One of the hospice chaplains that I trained under would often recite these verses to his patients who appeared to be comatose, and I believe that he was correct to do so: In my experience, I believe they often had one foot in this world and one foot in the next. If there was ever a time to hear these verses, it was then.
Paul was correct to state that we are “outwardly wasting away.” By the time we reach our later 20’s or early 30’s, we are beginning to physically decline in some major ways. We are truly wasting away with the passing of earthly time. That might not be the “feel good” thought for the day, but Paul goes on to inform us that as believers in Christ we are being spiritually renewed day by day – and that is the good news. Although Paul refers to our trials and tribulations in this passage as “light and momentary troubles” – once again showing his enthusiasm for God’s soul-building program – the end-goal is eternal communion with God in the world to come.
The tough times prepare us for life to come in Heaven. (And to be certain you will be with God when this life is over, refer to Paul’s requirement for salvation in Romans 10:9, “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”)
The ultimate end-goal of trials and tribulations is spiritual restoration and rebuilding: “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast” (1 Peter 5:10). We may not like these times of trial and tribulation – honestly, I haven’t enjoyed them thus far – but the life lessons we learn from them are priceless. In fact, they are eternally priceless.
Randy Hroziencik, Pastor
First Baptist Church (Kewanee)
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of The Kewanee Voice.
***This column is sponsored by the Kewanee Ministerial Association
