Why do we have trials?

Hey everyone. Have you ever went through a really rough time? During that time, did you ever wonder why in the world are you going through this time? Of course there are some obvious reasons why you are in the situation like you made a bad decision, or someone that depends on you made a bad decision. Sometimes though, we experience times that we don’t know the obvious answer to the question of why we are going through what we are going through.

It could be a time when you lose a job because of a financial crisis, the job you have goes under either because of government enforcement like what has happened a lot in 2020. It could be that a tornado came and destroyed your house or lose a family member. Each of those things could have happened today or at least this year. So why did God allow this to happen to us?

“And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope.”

Romans 5:3-4

Hcsb Bible

Now this post is not talking about each and every reason why God allows us to go through some brutal times, but this passage gives us one reason. That reason is that God is molding us into Jesus Christ image and getting better character. As the passage says, trials push us to have endurance, then because we have endurance then we have better character, and then because we have more endurance and better character we can have hope.

Now you may ask me how in the world does all of that eventually produce hope? Well how about we look back in our life. Do you remember when you or another kid/baby were younger and you would think it was the end of the world when your parents didn’t get you what you want. Or when you were in your teens and you were rejected by someone when you asked them out? That probably sucks a little bit but because of it, if you dealt with it appropriately then you have better strength of character because that person wasn’t the center of your life anymore.

A better analogy is working out. So when you start working with proper form then it will suck at first and may be painful in the moment but afterwards you get stronger. Your body repairs those tore up muscles by using the protein that you consume and afterwards, those muscles you used will be bigger and better prepared to handle more stress than last time.

For example one week you may be able to only bench press 185 pounds but then two weeks later, you can do 195 pounds.

In the same way when we are confronted by life’s trials, we are them better prepared for a more difficult situation in the future. This then produces endurance(perseverance) and good character. But how does this produce hope though?

When you go through several trials in life, it keeps your life in perspective. If you have experienced worse before then you have hope that you can get through this next trial in life because you’ve lived through other trials. You are better prepared to stand on your two feet.

It’s something that I’ve noticed about those that grew up in less than ideal situations and decide that they aren’t going to be beat up by life. They persevere through life and have better endurance than say someone that’s never experienced any want or need. When faced with a setback, they are more likely to stand up and better at the other side than someone that’s never went through trials.

Now this is not saying that this is the only reason why we go through what we go through. It’s also not saying that we should just thrust trials upon our children to build their character but rather to guide them and prepare them for when they get confronted those trials that will inevitably come.

So I hope you have a good day and if you have any questions, disagreements or thoughts, leave a comment and I’ll respond when I can.