God Is in ControlSample

Day 5: Trust in Times of Trial

Faith isn’t proven on calm days but in the storms you never would have chosen.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” —James 1:2–3 (NIV)

It’s easy to say “God is faithful” when life is tidy—health steady, relationships peaceful, bills paid. But what about when everything shifts? When a diagnosis blindsides you, a relationship fractures, or a long-nurtured dream shatters? Those are the moments when memorized verses and Sunday songs gain real weight.

Trials are not evidence that God has abandoned you. They are not punishment. They are God’s refining fire. Like gold in the furnace, faith is proved in heat: the fire does not create faith, but it exposes what is genuine and burns away what is false.

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” —Hebrews 12:11 (NIV)

Job understood this. After losing wealth, children, health, and enduring the discouragement of others, he still declared, Though He slay me, yet will I hope in Him. That wasn’t automatic; it was a deliberate choice to trust God above circumstances.

Trusting wholeheartedly isn't about ignoring pain or pretending everything is okay. It's about bringing our rawest emotions, fear, frustration, anger, and confusion to God and believing that He can handle it all.

When everything falls apart, God remains present, faithful, good, and unchanging. That's when we learn what unshakable faith is. Trusting is believing in His heart, even when we don't understand His actions.

My Prayer:

Lord, I admit that trials often shake me. Teach me to trust Your goodness even when I don’t understand what You’re doing. Refine my faith, anchor my hope in You, and show me Your sufficiency in every valley. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Reflect:

1. How has your faith been tested recently? What did it reveal about where your trust truly rests?
2. In hard times, where do you turn first for comfort—God or something else?

(If this devotional encouraged you, share it with someone who needs the same hope in Jesus.)