Free Grace Women

Over the past several years our family has gone through one trial after another, including cancer, unemployment, a devastating tornado, and more. Throughout this time I’ve taken part in several Bible studies on books such as Hebrews and Revelation, where the topic of trials in the believer’s life has been a major focus.

From these studies I’ve come to understand and believe that when we, as believers, persevere in faithfulness during times of trial, we earn eternal rewards.

Passages such as Luke 19 (the Parable of the Minas) and 2 Timothy 2:11-12 underscore this truth. However, my absolute favorite passage touching this topic is 2 Corinthians 4:17-18:

“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (NKJV)

These verses aren’t merely an encouragement to maintain an eternal perspective by fixing our hope on the world to come; instead, they remind us that when we persevere with actions and attitudes that please Him when the chips are down, those actions and attitudes reap rewards which will enhance our experience of eternity!¹

But recently the Lord has been showing me another advantage to persevering through trials, and that is the blessing of what I like to call “spiritual strength training.” Let me explain…

A good friend and I have been meeting over Zoom on Friday mornings to study the book of James, which also shines a spotlight on the believer’s ability to bear up under trials and the benefits of doing so. In fact, right out of the gate in chapter 1, James addresses his readers with the following exhortation: 

“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4, NASB ‘95). 

I have to admit that before this particular study of James, these verses confused and—dare I say—annoyed me.

“Why should I feel happy about hardship?” I always wondered.

And sadly, I assumed I just wasn’t spiritually mature enough to grasp it. But I think I’m finally starting to catch a glimpse of the author’s meaning behind those perplexing words. 

Though I was born in Oklahoma, my husband and I moved to northwest Arkansas 20 years ago. While we were already used to blazing hot Okie summers, the humidity here is off the charts! This summer, it has felt extra swampy! To make matters worse, the A/C goes out intermittently in my van. In fact, it only actually works about 20% of the time. Honestly, it’s awful. However, as annoying as that is, it’s teaching me something pretty amazing. When summer began, I wasn’t certain I could withstand it. As the weeks have worn on, however, I’ve gotten used to sweating bullets on the regular. And, I’ve realized that this trial has turned into training, preparing me to sweat willingly—and profusely!—on daily walks with my daughter.

I have a family history of diabetes, heart disease and stroke, and I’ve known for years that I’m at risk of developing the same. Yet knowing those facts and having the willpower and wherewithal to make the changes necessary to improve my health and minimize those risks are two different things. I guess you could say I’ve been avoiding it for a long time. But I’m 50 now, with an 8 year old, and a husband battling cancer. I can’t avoid it any longer. I absolutely have to take my health seriously and exercise is vital to my success. 

It’s boiling here in the south and walking in this insanity is hard work but, surprisingly, I’ve grown accustomed to it! And when winter comes—and I loathe the cold—I hope I’ll be ready to walk in those conditions, too, having already endured in the heat! So while having no A/C in my car stinks, doing without it has strengthened me. I can walk miles in the heat now! This must be precisely what James is talking about in the passage above. 

Among other blessings that Scripture lists as resulting from enduring in times of trial, this passage focuses on the capacity for trials to equip us in building up our spiritual muscles so that we can be victorious when faced with the pressure of additional (and possibly harder) future trials. Because trials are not just a possibility for believers. They are guaranteed. In John 16:33, Jesus assured His disciples that in this world they would have “tribulation.” The same is true for us today. It’s not a matter of “if,” but “when,” and how we will respond when those trials come. 

The truth is, there is just no way I would have signed up to go walking regularly in this scorching heat had I not been forced to endure it in my car first. But my constitution has been trained—and strengthened—by this particular trial. 

So does this mean that I never complain or feel dismayed about my broken A/C? Let’s be realistic…of course not! It’s absolutely miserable! I would be lying if I told you that it simply doesn’t bother me any longer—it does! It’s just that now I can recognize the benefit from it and not just the misery.

I’m beginning to scratch the surface of what it means to “consider it all joy” whenever trials come my way. And I’m going to count my busted A/C as a cause for rejoicing because of what it’s producing in me: endurance! 

---

1.  It’s important to note that these verses are not talking about our endurance in trials “working for us” or achieving admittance into eternity. Eternal life is a free gift received simply by believing in Jesus for it. See John 3:16, Ephesians 2:8-9, and Romans 4:5. ↩︎

---

---