“Why do bad things happen to good people?” “If God really loves me, why do bad things happen to me?” “Where was God when this calamity struck, anyway?” If we’re being honest, all of us have asked these questions and other similar questions at some point in our lives. When the doctor’s report comes back questionable, when the company decides to outsource your position, or when the marriage ends without warning, it’s easy to wonder where the goodness of God is.
There’s a false narrative floating around that once you give your life to Christ, that you will no longer have to face hard times. That’s simply untrue. Not only is it bad theology, it’s actually a dangerous idea that makes people question their relationship with God and His love for them. Jesus, when speaking to His disciples, worded it like this:
John 16:33 (ESV)
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
Jesus promised us that hard times would come. However, He promised that He has overcome the things that seem like they’re overwhelming us. When facing tribulations, it’s important to keep a few things in mind.
They’re Just a Season
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (ESV)
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose, a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace.
This famous Scripture teaches us that everything that goes on in our lives takes part during an ordained season. Try as we may to avoid them, the fact remains that hard times are a natural part of life. None of us are excited about those periods, but they do serve a purpose (which will we discuss in a moment).
Look at the end of the passage we just read. Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived said that there is a time for war and a time for peace. This principle is true even in your personal life. There are times where it seems like everything is a battle. Your finances are struggling, there’s stress at home, and everything feels like it’s falling apart at the seams. Take heart; it’s a season. If you’ve ever encountered a season where it feels like everything is a battle, you also know that there are seasons where everything feels peaceful.
When you’re faced with difficult times, keep in mind that they do not last forever. Instead, they simply serve as a transitional season that takes you into your next season of peace.
Trials Are an Opportunity
2 Corinthians 12:7-9(ESV)
So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Paul, the man who wrote most of the New Testament and started countless churches still faced hardship. If anything, the fact that Paul had problems should encourage us. If someone who was such a hero of the Christian faith faced problems, it’s safe to assume that we will too.
Paul asked God three times to take his problem away, but God simply refused. Instead of taking the thorn in the flesh that Paul suffered from away, God told Paul that His grace was more than enough for him.
This revelation caused Paul to shift his line of thinking when discussing his thorn in the flesh. Instead of viewing it as something that held him back, he saw it as an opportunity for God’s power to be made evident in his own life.
Our problems aren’t designed to hold us back. Instead, they serve the same purpose for us that they served for Paul. When you’re faced with a trial or tribulation, find opportunities to tell others of the goodness of God in the middle of it.
Trials Complete Us
James 1:2-4 (ESV)
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
When you endure something that seems to take so much out of you, it’s hard to view it as a tool that works to your own completion. However, James, the half-brother of Jesus said that the trials we face in life cause us to increase our faith. Once our faith increases, so does our steadfastness (or patience). The end result of steadfast faith? A life that is “perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
Armed with that information, James said that we should view our trials as a joyous occasion. Doesn’t that seem like a completely foreign concept? Why should we be happy about problems? Because God uses those problems to make us into something better.
Have you ever been to the gym? Perhaps you’ve set a New Year’s resolution for yourself and worked out at home. Wherever you go to get into better shape, what did you notice on the first few days of your workout regimen? You were sore the day after you worked out.
When you lift weights, the muscles that you’re working actually tear. This produces the pain that you feel. Do you give up on the exercise in the face of the pain? Absolutely not. You know that the pain that you’re experiencing has a payoff that results in your improved personal fitness.
In the same vein, the pain that we experience during trials in our lives produces something that makes us better than we were when we started. It’s easy to get so caught up in the pain that we lose sight of the goal, but if we heed James’ advice, that won’t be the case. When you’re faced with a trial, be joyful about it. It is through those trials of your faith that God completes you.
Even as children of God, we will all face hard times until Christ returns and we take up our permanent residence in Heaven. Jesus said, “In this world, you will have trouble.” As long as we are on this side of eternity, we are going to be faced with problems and pain. However, we can rest in the fact that those problems are not permanent. Instead, they simply serve as a transitional period from one season to the next. Additionally, we should remember that God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness. Our times of testing provide a beautiful opportunity for God to establish a testimony in our lives. Finally, let us remember that those trials complete us. James promised that if we endure the times of testing, we will be perfect and lacking nothing.
A Closing Prayer:
God, help me to change my perspective when I’m faced with problems in life. Instead of losing hope, help me remember that they are temporary. Show me areas in my life where your strength can be made perfect in my weakness. Finally, help me remember that my trials are producing something far greater in me. In Christ’s name, Amen.