Day 18 - Trust the Trial

A Weightless Devotional

When your response to trials is hope instead of resentment, you prepare the runway for the provision and protection of God to land in your life.

“Think of how we regard as blessed those who have endured. You have heard of Job’s endurance and you have seen the Lord’s purpose, that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy.” (James 5:11)

To the anxious soul, trials become a curse, struggles a self-defensive thrashing at shadows. The anxious soul then seeks shelter in anxious plotting and anxious planning, which is touted as the quickest remedy to the perceived aggression. But what if, instead of focusing on how bad things look, you shifted your perspective to think about how blessed things look through the lens of trust? If you trust God and take Him at His word, then you remember that the most fortunate among us are those who suffer and yet endure.

You have the chance to be truly happy, to be blessed, when you are faced with trials and tribulations, because it is then that you find yourself in need of a Savior, and in that, you are poised to receive His provision, protection, and purpose. When your response to trials is hope instead of resentment, you prepare the runway for the provision and protection of God to land in your life, and from that, you receive a spiritual strength and resilience that you would otherwise have never known.

Once you can recognize the benefit suffering brings to the life of faith, your heart goes from heavy to weightless, from bitter to sweet, from resistant to peaceful. Instead of viewing your suffering as an unwelcome intruder, you start to see it as a purposeful tool in the hands of a loving God who is shaping you into the likeness of His Son. This perspective can help you endure with patience, hope, and even joy, rather than anxiety.

Anxiety is resistance to perfection, the perfecting fire that burns away all the dross of life that weighs you down and holds you back. Isn’t it ironic that the anxiety that arises from fearing the worst is actually keeping you from the best? Anxiety is your heart’s attempt to resist the loving hand of the potter on His clay. It is trying to jump out of His hands onto the dirty floor and to run rather than to trust that this trial is creating in you a clean heart—one that is freed from the grime of self-determination and self-reliance.

The story of Job is a peek into this process of perfecting. Job endured unimaginable suffering, but he remained faithful to God. His story isn’t just a tale of pain; it’s a testament to the purpose of pain in the life of faith. Through his trials, Job learned the reality of God—His compassion, mercy, and ultimate justice—and because of that, Job’s endurance has inspired countless millions of believers throughout the ages to trust in God’s goodness, even when life is unbearable.