Why Trials In The Christian Life
why does God allow trials?
There are three categories of people in this world. and everyone falls under one of these categories at any given time in their lives.
So, it is either you have a problem, you are coming out of a problem or you are about to enter into a problem situation. what do you think?
True, isn’t it?
But as Christians, we are to count it all joy when we face various trials and temptations.
Some Christians have even learned to say “it is well”. but that doesn’t explain why we have to go through so much in the first place.”
You must have heard people ask…
Why did I have to be sick now? why did I have to lose that job, why did I have to lose my wife or husband, why did my kid have to be hit by a drunk driver … why! Why!! Why!!!
We have so many “whys” for God.
Yes, sometimes the pain and confusion are overwhelming. We can’t seem to find answers to anything. And yet we look at the Bible and it says God is love.
so what gives?
why does He let us go through trials at all? Why can’t God just stop it all, Afterall He is God. Right?
Yes, He is…
now let’s move our lenses away from ourselves and try to view things from God’s perceptive… and try to see things as God does.
To understand this, we must go right back to the beginning. To see how it all unfolded.
God created a perfect world.
And He created man who was perfect also and in harmony with God. And He gave man the dominion over everything He had made.
It was and still is God’s plan that man should live without pain, fear, sadness, or grief as we have it today.
That’s the reason God completed everything about creation and handed it over to mankind as a gift. Did you know that the word “Eden” means “Pleasure”?
God’s plan for man was for him to experience only pleasure for eternity. Nothing close to what we feel now.
What went wrong?
Adam played into the hand of the deceiver and lost the Dominion given to him by God.
The book of Romans 6:16 says. “don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey…” (NIV)
This summarizes what happened to Man.
In choosing to trust the Devil rather than His creator, man willingly gave himself to the control of the devil and became his captive.
Now what this meant was that mankind was to be left to the mercy of the great deceiver.
This was the ultimate plan of the Devil.
To get mankind to sin against God so God will cast away his creation. And he (devil) will fill the earth with woe and desolation. And ultimately point to all this evil as the handwork of God.
But what he did not know was that God was one step ahead of him. and was not willing for his children to be lost forever in case they made a mistake.
So, when we ask why we go through hardships, this is the reason:
we are in enemy territory. we came here by the choice of our first parents and now most of our choices today still keep us under his control.
But God has worked out a plan to destroy sin without destroying us.
The devil claims ownership of the earth, and God does not argue with him.
Not because his claims are true but because its kind of stands to reason.
Look around you who do you think has more influence over the minds of Humans today, God or Satan? You guessed right. It’s the Devil.
That’s why he is called the “prince of the power of the air the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience.” Ephesians 2:2. He is in control of the minds of the majority of the earth’s population, and it is evident in our sight.
But God has not given up this world to the devil. Amen!!!
Satan stole the deeds of the property from the caretakers (Adam & Eve). it doesn’t make him the rightful owner of the property. He is still a liar and a thief.
Remember Job… when the devil bragged to God of going to and fro on the earth…You know? As the owner of it with nobody telling him what to do?
God said to him…? “Have you considered my servant Job?”
What is God saying exactly?
God is saying to the Devil, you can parade all over the earth, but So long as there is one person upon the earth who is willing to serve me you don’t own the earth.
The reality of this word of God still enrages the devil. and he will do anything to discourage those who have chosen to put their faith in God.
The devil is not happy with those who are in his supposed territory and are going against him. hence the trials. To break you into submission.
God does not entirely stop the trials, instead, he filters them to make sure that we don’t get more than we can bear. It might seem heavy but trust me God has it diluted.
This still doesn’t completely answer the “why” question.
You see, man has been in this world so long that he has been contaminated and weakened by sin.
we want to serve God, but the truth is we don’t know how, we want to keep our hearts clean but we still don’t know-how.
King David had to plead with God to search his heart to see if there is any wicked way in him. Because he didn’t know how to do it himself.
Why trials?
Trials are tools that God uses to keep us clean. Remember trials don’t come from God but rather he bends them to be of benefit to us.
when the devil throws trials our way, God intends for it to strengthen us not bend us over. That is why he offers help and a way of escape in Himself.
Take Joseph for example
God had plans for Joseph. And It was not God’s intention for Joseph to go through that ordeal at that young age. but Joseph still had a lot of character amendment to do before he could do anything for God.
Most times our choices pave the way for the devil to harass us. But God does not abandon us. He instead calls our attention to Him so He can bend trials for our Good.
In Egypt while trusting in God Joseph was able to learn and grow in the lord… his trials made him a better person.
“The opposition we meet may prove a benefit to us in many ways. If it is well borne, it will develop virtues which would never have appeared if the Christian had nothing to endure. FH 111.5”
What the devil intended for our destruction, God uses to make us. Joseph understood this, that’s why he said to his brothers. “You thought evil for me but God meant it unto good…” Genesis 50:20
What we need to do is trust God with our ways …
These trials tend to keep us alert and aim to remind us of where we are. “Enemy Territory”
We must count it all joy. Because when this happens it means we are going against the control of the prince of the power of the air.
The times of trials are not pretty, or easy but when we face them while holding on to God it makes a whole lot of difference…
If you endure, you learn a few things that will make you a better person. you’ll learn things like -faith, patience, forbearance, heavenly-mindedness, trust in Providence, and genuine sympathy with the erring, these are the results of trials well borne…
Trials come our way but trust me it is not as severe as the devil intended. Ask Jesus, on the cross He received the full effect of the devil’s attack without a shield.
The devil bombers us with trials to break us, but God is too willing to help. God may not stop the trials, but He turns them in our favor if we trust in Him. in 1corintians 10:13 He promises a way of escape…
We are in enemy territory is the reason for our pain. But God is working on our behalf. it is not His intention to keep us here it was by one wrong choice, and one right choice will also make a difference for us.
So why trials, oppositions… why do bad things happen… it’s because we are in a war and happen to be in enemy territory.
Serving God is in defiance of the devil and he can’t have it. But as Christians, we must be strong and courageous. take advantage of the help offered by God to give us a way of escape and to strengthen us through it all.
And remember that so long as we remain in this world, the trials will keep coming… our only choice will be to trust in God to make it better.
whatsoever you are going through or have gone through. God trusts you enough to let It come your way. And like Job God is depending on you to overcome because He knows you can.
