Growth in Trials
And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience. Romans 5:3 KJV
Christians are the only ones who can truthfully say they glory in tribulations. Others can only feel immense sorrow and oppression.
Although we may feel isolated as we go through the trials of life, we can confidently say that Christ’s love will sustain us and preserve us. Romans 8:35,37: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . . . Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.” Nothing, notwithstanding how awful it may be, can separate us from our Lord’s love towards us. Our God will not allow any trial to enter our lives unless He knows we will be able to withstand it through His grace. He provides a way for us to escape our tribulations so that we can be strengthened through them and not crushed.
Our God is the One Who faced the most gruesome tribulation to bring comfort and rest to those whom He calls His children. He was hung on a cross, the emblem of shame. Through the shame and humiliation, He crushed Satan’s head. Let us, as Christians, feel blessed and honored to suffer for living out His Word.
Luther once said about the tribulations he faced in his life, “If Satan had not so plagued and exercised me, I should not have been so great an enemy unto him, or have been able to do him such hurt. Tribulations keep us from pride, and therewith increase the acknowledgment of Christ and of God’s gifts and benefits.” Martin Luther, Table Talk
The tribulations we face keep us humble and focused on the mission of spreading the Gospel. If our life was nothing but endless happiness, then we would soon forget God and the tasks He has given us.
Dear Lord, thank You for the tribulations I face, for they redirect my gaze to You. Amen.