“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” (James 1:2-3) Eventually, all of us will face trials. That is the nature of life. However, there are two kinds of results that will come from trials. For the person not looking for the truth that exists in Christ, trials will contribute to the hardness of their heart and the firming up of stubborn pride. For the person searching for the truth of the Scriptures, trials will produce eternal fruit because the Lord takes those trials and invites us into the depth of the knowledge of Christ.
As Christians, we need not ‘waste our sorrows.’ Just because we belong to the Lord doesn’t mean we are jettisoned from facing the same heartaches common to man. It only means that God can work his eternal purpose in our lives through the trials. Trials have a way of revealing our priorities and calling us to a deeper surrender to Jesus. The biblical worldview is the only paradigm that offers a coherent and consistent answer to the reality of life—both physically and existentially.
None of us like trials. First of all, they hurt. Second, they make us feel alone. However, trials do not have to harden us and cause us to become bitter old people. Instead, they can soften our character and point us to the truth of how the gospel answers the big questions of life by giving us explanatory power to the complexity we all face as humans. Many times trials catapult us to consider issues we would otherwise neglect or avoid.
Famed Christian apologist, C. S. Lewis, once said, “God speaks to our conscience, whispers in our pleasures, and shouts in our pain. Pain is God’s megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” I’m not so sure God speaks louder during our trials. Perhaps it is that we are more sensitive to slow down and listen. Obligations in life have a way of placing us on a fast conveyor belt of activities that cause us to rush past God’s voice.
Years ago, there was a country song by John Anderson that said, “I’m just an old chunk of coal, but I’m gonna be a diamond some day.” Sounds corny, but there is a lot of truth in that statement. By exposing a worthless piece of coal to time and pressure, it becomes a very valuable diamond. The more the pressure, the higher quality the diamond. God uses the trials of life to place us under pressure, not to destroy us but to change us. To increase our value and usefulness in His kingdom. Next time trials of affliction come our way, let us fall on our knees in prayer and look up unto the hills from whence cometh our help. God is taking our life, that may appear as a worthless or cheap piece of coal, and…making diamonds!
