If men are honest with themselves, most of us fear trials and tribulations. We have all heard the saying: “Never pray for patience,” because God may send a storm your way to force you to exercise the patience you don’t have. Somewhere along the way, many of us begin to picture God not as a good and loving Father, but as a distant and impatient judge just waiting to correct us and force us into submission.
We convince ourselves that the less headwinds we face, the better life will be. The challenge is we often live our lives as if we can fool God. We want the wisdom of God, but we want to skip the line of testing, endurance, and refinement that often produces it. We want spiritual maturity without the pressure that shapes it. We ask for deeper faith while resisting the very circumstances God uses to deepen it.
Romans 5:3-5
Not only so, but 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.
We often live as though the blessings of God should mean protection from hardship. Have you ever caught yourself thinking, “If God is good, surely He will keep His children from conflict, trials, and suffering?” I know I’m subject to that kind of thinking. But then I look to Scripture and see Joseph betrayed and imprisoned, Job losing nearly everything, David hunted while hiding in caves, Elijah exhausted and fleeing in fear, Paul beaten and imprisoned, and even Christ Himself suffering rejection, torture, and the cross. The men and women God used most were often those who walked through the deepest valleys.
Hebrews 11:35-38
There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
But the reality is this: God not only made us, He fully knows our weaknesses, failures, and shortfalls. Many of us have probably asked, “If You love me, why didn’t You just make me more like You from the beginning?” But that is not how God works. We were all born into sin. We are all sinners in need of grace. Yet at salvation, God begins transforming the very worst parts of us into something useful for His kingdom. God calls imperfect men to disciple other imperfect men. Sinners in need of grace discipling other sinners in need of grace.
Scripture tells us we are not only called to follow Christ, but also to share in His sufferings. Christ did not walk this earth for 33 years in comfort and prosperity. He did not sit on a golden throne barking orders from a distance. He stepped directly into a fallen and broken world. He suffered rejection, betrayal, pain, exhaustion, temptation, and sorrow. And as co-heirs with Christ and adopted sons of God, we are not exempt from those same realities.
Romans 8:16-17
and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
One of the greatest challenges many Christians face is this: we want the salvation of Christ, but not the sanctification of Christ. We want Heaven, but we resist the process God uses to shape us for it. Yet Scripture is clear—trials and tribulations are not merely possible for the believer; they are guaranteed this side of Heaven.
So what is the upside? The upside is eternity with God our Father. The reward is a deep, life-giving relationship with Jesus here and forever. This life is temporary. It is preparation ground. Testing ground. Training ground.
Like oak trees, our faith only develops deep roots when storms come. Roots do not grow deep during perfect weather. They grow deep during droughts, hurricanes, and violent winds. God did not call His people to have shallow roots. He called us to stand firm. If we were never tested, we would never realize how desperately we need Him. After a storm, you always find out which trees had deep roots and which ones only looked strong on the surface.
Jeremiah 17:7-8
But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.
Consider the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man had everything this world could offer and, at least in his mind, he had no need for God. Lazarus, on the other hand, suffered daily and depended on the goodness of God for everything. If Lazarus received a breadcrumb from the rich man’s table, it was considered a good day. One man trusted in his comfort and earthly abundance while the other had nothing except dependence on God.
But like all men, death came for both of them. And when death comes, every man will stand in need of a Savior. True salvation is not simply believing in God when life is easy—it is a calling to live by faith and dependence upon Him.
Does this mean every believer is guaranteed a Lazarus-like existence? No. But faith rarely grows in comfort. Faith grows in trials, weakness, suffering, and dependence. The question is not whether we can avoid every storm by honoring God and doing His will.
Luke 16:25
Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.
Can we avoid trials by doing God’s will and honoring Him with everything we do? Nope. Job never prayed for suffering, wisdom, or patience, yet he was a godly man who endured trials of enormous magnitude. And despite losing nearly everything, Job trusted the Lord. When he came out the other side, like an oak tree that survived a violent storm, his roots ran deeper.
Even Jesus Himself prayed, “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me.” God heard the petition of His own Son, yet the cup was not removed. Instead, Christ was strengthened to endure it, fulfill the Father’s will, and accomplish something greater through the suffering.
James 1:3-4
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.
So can we completely avoid trials and tribulations? No. It’s true that sin can create consequences that bring hardship and drive us back to God. But storms also hit the godly. The difference is God does not waste those storms. He uses them for His purposes—to expose us, refine us, humble us, strengthen us, and deepen our dependence on Him.
So let the trial finish its work.
John 16:33
In this world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
Have a great weekend,
Stephen L. Thomas