GRACE ANCHORED JOURNEY

Is there any good out of sufferings and trials? 

Are you suffering and experiencing deep trials in life?

Sufferings. Trials. Troubles. These are words that correlate with pain, heartaches, discouragements, and sometimes, hopelessness. You don’t want these, do you? I dislike them either. I could not accept the thought of suffering as I hated the idea of it. In my humanly strength, I tried to skip and escape.

But there are times when God allows His children to experience suffering for many reasons. It may seem unfair, but His purpose is always for our best.

A few years back, I had a very shallow view of God. Whenever I felt inconveniences, I grumbled. I was like a child who threw tantrums in front of my parents. 

Now, that I have grown up, my perspective has changed. I am in the process of learning that in sufferings and trials, there are benefits in our Christian walk. Though, going through it is indeed like walking on wilderness with nothing but thorns and rocky roads, yet there is still the beautiful scenery that comes along with it if we remain hopeful and positive.  It is true that as we go through deep sufferings and trials, we will experience blessings if we do not fail to trust and include God in the picture.

In this article, I will be sharing with you the benefits of trials and sufferings.  That, amidst all of these, we might see trials and sufferings as blessings instead of tragedy.

1. Draw Us Closer to God

When life is easy, it is hard to get closer to God in a deeper way. Imagine your life now, without many trials and pain. I am sure that being grateful is in your heart. It is easy to praise God when things are going well. It is easy to say that God is good when we don’t have struggles and brokenness. But how about in trials and sufferings? Are we still the same? Can we still praise and worship God?

I had been to so many ups and downs in life. One thing I learned is that during those high moments, I never learned to get on my knees talking and pleading to God. Instead, whenever I hit rock bottom, I remembered the Lord.

These days where it seems like everything has fallen apart, I came to understand during these moments of my life do not mean to harm or pull me down. All are happening for my own good. I have been asking God to for couple of months to change my circumstance – to remove my suffering and restore my health. But I don’t see it come to pass. Then, I realized that I had been so distant from God. This season of my life is an opportunity to draw myself to Him.

He is always waiting for us to draw ourselves to Him and He will draw near to us (James 4:8).

When we are broken, then God can fix us in a different way.

Psalm 34:18 says “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.”

2. A Good Testimony to Share Our Faith

The world views trials and sufferings as a curse. You may look around you. Many unbelievers will respond negatively. Some may hate God. Others may blame and curse him. They will start to say, “If you are a good and loving God, why would you allow this to happen?” Can you relate to that?

On the other hand, as Christians, we must show them a different response. The story of Job reminds us how a Christian should respond to trials. In chapter 2, Job said that “we accept good from God, shall we not receive evil?” (v10). By responding in a Christian way, people who do not know God might wonder. It will be an opportunity for us to share our faith and Jesus.

Our own unique story can be written and shared with others. God wants it to be told for His glory.

Psalm 66:16 says, “Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.”

3. Prune and Mold Our Character

We might have heard that God is more concerned with our character than our convenience or easy life. We always say that we want to be Christ but so much afraid of pruning. We are selfish by nature. And, it is unnatural for us to receive trials and sufferings with joy. But this is the only way to be more like Christ. No one experience gladness in pruning. Like a plant that needs pruning in order to bear much fruit, we also need to be pruned to mold and refine our character.

My sister finds it stressful whenever she encounters trials or sufferings. I always tell her that the more we are pressed with uncomfortable situations or unpleasant circumstances, the more our sinful attitude will draw out from the closet.

As what James said, we must accept trials joyfully (1:2-4).They meant to make us mature in the faith and hold on to godly character such as faith and patience. Moreover, as we experience sufferings and trials, it leads us to humble ourselves because we realize that we cannot do it alone. We need God’s help.

Malachi 3:3 says, “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord.”

4. Inspire Others in their Walk

I could not thank the Lord enough for allowing me to go through so much heartaches and brokenness. Those moments where I thought I would just give up became stories of faith amidst unbelief, trust instead of doubt, and hope in the face of hopelessness. These things that I keep on sharing with others sometimes give them a sense of inspiration. Whenever people would tell me that I am an inspiration to them, I always remember God and His faithfulness to me.

I know my stories are quite the same with others. But I also know that God allows me to experience all these things in order for me to share this with others.

In the same way, God has crafted stories for you. If you think that you don’t find a reason to continue, remember that your story might be an encouragement or might bring hope to others.

One of the messages I received is this, “Hello, good day… I’ve been reading your blogs and I’m learning a lot. I thank the Lord for using you to empower other women like me.” In times that I think of giving up, messages like this help me get on my feet again.

Yes, you also can empower women (even men) to continue their walk in the Lord.

In conclusion, our sufferings and trials have their own purpose in our Christian life. Remember Romans 8:28, God says that “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.” If we believe this with all our hearts, then we will not be disheartened with whatever trial or pain we will experience. Because we know that it is for our best.