Why do we go through trouble?
It’s a question that we all ask. Especially when we are in the midst of it! It’s also a question that has been addressed in hundreds and thousands of sermons, sermons that made perfect sense when you hear them. But somehow, when you in right in the middle of serious trials, they don’t quite answer your questions!
We’re all familiar with the common texts used to support all of the common arguments:
“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.” (James 1:2-4 THE MESSAGE)
“We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next.” (Rom 5:3-5 THE MESSAGE)
It makes sense. Sort of.
But haven’t you often wondered, in the midst of trials, just why it is that God sees fit, at this particular moment in time, to teach you that patience? Couldn’t He use some other time, some other place? And why is it that we need so much refining? God accepts us as we are! The gift of Salvation is free for anyone, even those who are dying. Even those who have never had the chance on Earth to “develop passionate patience” or to have that patience forged into the “tempered steel of virtue”. It’s so hard to go through these times! Why does God make us do it?
I found the answer the other day in a very unlikely place: Right in the middle of one of the most confusing prophecies (in my opinion) in the entire Bible: Right between Dan 11 and 12: “The testing will refine, cleanse, and purify those who keep their heads on straight and stay true, for there is still more to come.” (Dan. 11:35 THE MESSAGE)
It doesn’t sound too encouraging, does it? The last thing anyone wants to hear, in the midst of heavy testing, is that: “There is still more to come”!
But we all know it’s true. Yes, the trial you are going through now will eventually come to an end, but believe me, there will be one right behind it. But if you take a moment to think back over some of the trials that have been forced upon you, you will see some of the lessons that this time of testing has taught you. If you are perfectly honest with yourself, you will realize how important those lessons have been to you in upcoming trials.
Up until last year, I homeschooled my two boys. This provided many times of “testing” for me, and I would often sit in front of my computer at the end of the day, after everyone else had gone to bed, and cry. You see, I was working part-time at the time, and I didn’t feel like I was doing an adequate job with my boys. Every day was filled to overflowing, and our schedules had to be juggled with extreme care. The time pressures never ceased to push me over the edge!
I’m ashamed to say that it took God a few years to get through to me, but eventually I did learn to put my schedule into His hands.
And it was a good thing!
It became necessary last year for me to I began working full-time. Suddenly my time was so crunched that the petty time crunches from the previous 8 years seemed like nothing. Fortunately, I had already learned to put my schedule in God’s hands. I didn’t suffer the breakdowns I had known previously. Why? Because God had been working important lessons into my heart, ones that I needed in order to be able to continue to stand when “more” came!
I would like to say that there were no breakdowns whatsoever once I began working full-time, but this just wouldn’t be true. Because of the loss of another staff member, it became necessary for me to temporarily pick up a part-time chronic caseload. I had spent the last 13 years working in a very specialized out-patient area of Speech Pathology, and I hated my new responsibilities. I don’t know how many times I would cry out to God to “remove this horrible caseload from my plate!” I’d say, “Lord, I never wanted to work full-time. Hey! I never wanted to work at all! I’ve begged and begged You to remove this from me, but Your answer has always been, ‘trust Me!’ And I’ve trusted You! But Lord, if You want me to continue this horrible full-time work, then take away these chronic patients!”
God’s answer to my plea was a bit different than I had anticipated. Instead of removing the chronic patients, He began showing me how to love them. Before my temporary stage on the Chronic floor was over, He had succeeded in developing in me the desire to help chronic patients.
It was a good thing. When it became apparent that my work with the chronic patients would become permanent, I was okay with it!
Friends, there is always more to come, and the trials God is allowing you to pass through right now will strengthen and prepare you for the ones to come. Don’t grumble and complain, asking God to remove the trials. Instead, sit back and rejoice. Let Him carry you through. Let Him teach you the important lessons you will need, for what you learn from your troubles today will help to smooth the way for the bigger things of the future!
In His love,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, mother of two teens, author and moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly devotional newsletter dedicated to bringing you closer to the Lord; Moderator for Scriptural Nuggets ( www.scripturalnuggets.org ), a website devoted to minisermons and poetry; with Answers2Prayer ministries, www.Answers2Prayer.org .