5 Reasons to Embrace Trials in Your Life

All of us at some point or another will face a trial in our life. The trials we will face will be diverse and some will be far more intense than others. However, no matter the degree or intensity of the trial, one thing is certain, trials are not fun.

Nobody wants to have a trial in their life. Many times they involve loss, loss of someone you love, loss of a job, divorce, or broken friendships. Trials are hard and they are often painful.

Given these facts, why would I ever tell you to embrace trials? Well, God allows trials in our life for specific purposes. Here are five reasons why you should embrace the trials in your life.

1. Trials are Good for You

We know that God is sovereign over all circumstances in our life and nothing happens without His allowing it to happen. At the same time, we have this promise that God will use all circumstances in our life for good. (Romans 8:28) So if God is allowing a trial in your life, you can be assured that trial is for your good.

In 1 John 5:14-15 we read:

“This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.

When we ask God to remove a trial from our life and He does not do it, we know that what we have asked is not in accordance with His will. God’s will, will only be worked out for our good. Because we know this, we can be assured the trial in our life is indeed for God and is part of God’s perfect plan for. God will give you all that you need to get through your trial victoriously.

For this reason, you can embrace trials in your life.

2. Trials Make You Long for Eternity

Let’s be honest here when our situations are good and going the way we want them to, we are not longing for eternity. If we are honest, we are usually quite content here on earth when life is good and easy. Lack of suffering inevitably accompanies a comfortable life. It is just human nature to get comfy in our own complacency. But, when we are undergoing a big trial our focus is very much on God. We look forward to the time we will no longer have to suffer under the sin of this world and the weight of our trials.

Our trials keep us focused on eternity and give us a longing to be with our savior.

3. Trials Cause Us to Be More Dependent on God

God often uses trials in our life to make us rely completely on Him. When we are going through a trial, we often feel powerless over our circumstances, this is what drives us to the Lord. Think about it, you are called about to pray without ceasing, but when everything is going well, are you really doing that? No, our trials bring us to our knees and cause us complete dependence on our good and gracious Father.

How often we like to think of ourselves as independent and self-sufficient. But the truth is, we need God. Without acknowledging our need for him, we can never have a proper relationship with Him.

In Psalm 86 David was in the midst of a trial, his response was to acknowledge that he needed the Lord in his distress:

1 Hear me, Lord, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.
2 Guard my life, for I am faithful to you;
save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God; 3 have mercy on me, Lord,
for I call to you all day long.
4 Bring joy to your servant, Lord,
for I put my trust in you.
5 You, Lord, are forgiving and good,
abounding in love to all who call to you.
6 Hear my prayer, Lord;
listen to my cry for mercy.
7 When I am in distress, I call to you,
because you answer me.

Acknowledging our need and growing in greater dependence on God allows us to embrace trials.

4. Trials Help Us to Be More Like Jesus

The goal of every Christian must be to be more Christ-like. It is through embracing our trials that we are able to transform into the image of Christ, made perfect and complete.

In James 1:2-4 we are told:

“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

So through our trials, we have the unique opportunity to be formed into the image of Christ. What better reason to embrace trials, then being transformed into the image of Christ.

5. Trials Help Us to Know God Better

Every trial we encounter brings us closer to God when our hope is properly placed in Him. Through our trials, we enter into a deeper and more meaningful fellowship with Him. Look at Job’s response at the end of his trials:
Job 42:4-6

4 ‘Hear, now, and I will speak;
I will ask You, and You instruct me.’
5 “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear;
But now my eye sees You;

Before his trial, Job had heard of who God was, but as a result of his trial, he was so close to God that he could say, “now my eye sees you.” As far as we know, Job never knew of the reason for his trial, nor did he know what the outcome would be, yet, he gained the power to overcome it through a closer relationship with God.

The trials that are in your life are never meant to break you, they are meant to make you into the person God wants you to be. The day will come when you will see perfectly, you will see exactly why you went through all the trials that you did. But when we embrace trials in our life, we have confidence that we will look back at some of those trials and see the growth in both faith in and understanding of God and who He is.

Now go and Live Simply, Live Fully and Make Today Your Favorite Day!