No one wants to go through trials. No one wants to experience seasons of pain. Try as we might to avoid them, it is a part of the human experience to go through things that often leaves us feeling like we cannot breath.
I felt inspired to write this post when someone reached out to me on my Instagram, asking how to navigate through the anxiety of potentially experiencing infertility, and because of someone who reached out to me, asking for advice amidst a season of infertility. This post applies to so much more than seasons of infertility, spanning out to all of the pain that the human experience brings.
Throughout my season of pain, my heart always goes to 1 Peter 1:7:
“These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.”
1 Peter 1:7, NLT
It is so hard for me to hear these words when I am in the midst of deep pain, but they are so powerful. They are living and active words that pierce straight into the soul (Hebrews 4:12), revealing that trials come with deep purpose.
I believe the tough question that needs to be asked, no matter the pain experienced, is…
“How does God want me to respond amidst this pain?”
When this question is asked, we are able to welcome God into our pain, understanding that our faith in Christ gets to be strengthened when we put our trust in him despite the pain.
Trials shape us, Christ uses these times of refinement to mold us into who He has created us to be. He is the author of goodness and truth, but just like he allowed trials in Job’s life to serve the purpose of revealing his greatness, He sometimes allows our hearts to be broken in order to glorify His greater purpose that we may not see in our finite human minds.
The second question you can ask, amidst a trial is…
What fruit have I seen from the past trials I have faced through dependence on Jesus?
What fruit have you seen when your faith has been refined in the past? What fruit do you hope to see from this current trial?
Thinking on these things, and how God has carried us through all of it, can bring so much hope- hope that the current pain we are experiencing will reap a beautiful harvest in the end. We just have to keep pressing on as Philipians 3:14 commands…
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philipians 3:14, NIV
So we press on, holding onto the hope that is ours in Christ Jesus (1 Peter 1:3).
We must remember that in this life, loss and heartbreak are absolutely inevitable. Yet amidst this knowledge it is also vital to remember the HOPE and PROMISE we carry within us, which is the prize that God has called is toward through the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. We MUST press on towards the goal, the prize which awaits us in the end.
Pain teaches that this world and all of its riches will always fail us.
The people we love will fail us, and we will fail the people we love. Our bodies will fail us. Yet, God is faithful despite all of this, and he will never ever fail us. He will remain constant amidst man’s failures and heartbreak.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28, NIV
When we choose to give our lives to Jesus and follow him, when we give our hearts and our trials to him, his great love and faithfulness will sustain us amidst all of the pain we have faced and will face.
This is why 1 Peter 1:7 calls us to view our pain in a different light than the way the world views pain. It is a lifelong process in which we learn to view trials as God breaking our hearts for him. God uses these seasons to refine us and draw us closer, so that our lives may glorify him.
I am still learning to view pain in this way. It is a daily pray that the Holy Spirit would prepare my heart so I may understand the process of refinement and how it centers around dependence on, trust in, and obedience to Christ.
Trials serve a greater purpose than what we can see in the present moment. They serve a purpose that leads us to a future where there is no pain. So your final question today can be…
How can I choose to lean closer into Christ despite this trial I am going through?
He is for you, dear one. He is refining you so that your faith and wonder of the one who created you may grow deeper than it ever has before.
