Transform through Trials

We all have stories in which we’ve learned something the hard way. I know a woman who, while staying in a hotel, put a hot curling iron on an unstable surface. To her surprise, it slid off the counter, hitting the hard, tiled bathroom floor. She thought for sure it had broken. But it didn’t. Relieved, the woman immediately found a safer, level place to rest the curling iron and learned to secure it better in the future.

This woman’s blunder offers a simplistic example, but it makes its point nevertheless: Why does God allow painful things to happen to us? Why does He put us through trials, some of which push us to our very limits? Because sometimes, unfortunately, trials and pain are the best and most effective methods for us to learn.

Think of all the things, both big and small, that upset our lives—health concerns, financial instability, relationship conflicts, and daily traffic to name just a few. Things that make us anxious, angry, or sad and bring stress and hardship into our lives. As upsetting and frustrating as these things can be, they could also be God’s teaching moments.

Consider the story of Joseph, who was wrongly imprisoned for years. Was it an injustice? Yes. But in the process, the arrogant young Joseph learned humility and patience—things that no textbook and no lecture could have taught or inspired him to change his ways.

It was Joseph’s faith in God, his only refuge, that grew as a result of his many trials. Instead of Joseph living in a prison of his own making, he found himself in a real prison that, in turn, freed him from his true jailers: ego, pride, and ignorance.

Jesus is the only human to have lived a perfect life. The rest of us can only strive for it. But if we put our faith in Jesus’ perfection, His redeeming work on the cross, our striving won’t be in vain.

To God alone be glory!