Bible Devotion #1: Facing Trials

By Noah Eck

Everyone goes through trials and has to deal with problems throughout their life and recently I opened up the Bible to see what it says about facing these problems. When someone has a problem in their life or is just going through some tough times the initial reaction is that nothing good can come out of it and that’s just not true. Romans 5:3-5 shows us that we can’t grow if we don’t have any obstacles in our way, “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” In other words the saying, “No pain no gain,” holds true. Now that we know that trials can strengthen us and help us grow, what should our attitude be towards these problems? The easy thing to do is to whine, complain, and groan about everything we have to put up with but you can avoid that by focusing on the reassurance of your faith in Christ that the testing provides. James 1:2-4 says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” Going through problems forces to put your trust in God, especially when these problems are bigger than you can handle. Just as trees need wind to help their roots grow deeper and build a firm foundation, we need problems to strengthen our roots in Christ to help us grow.

Application: By now you should be pretty knowledgable about why problems are essential to our lives as Christians but how do you apply this to your daily life? My recommendation is to think of a small problem that you may have in your life and start there. Take a step back and look at the problem as a chance, or an opportunity to grow and then, when it’s all said and done take a look at the results. Then you should slowly keep applying this principle to bigger issues in your life and before you know it you will have a joyful attitude not only when life is easy but also when times are tough. You also will feel less stress and be more confident because you will have a firm foundation and trust in the creator of the universe. At this point you will have spent a decent amount of time reading this devotion and studying what the Bible says without taking action and actually doing something is a waste of time. With that in mind, I am going to give you a simple challenge: Drill Romans 5:3-5 and James 1:2-4 in your head. I can personally say that it has changed my daily attitude and seriously helped me build trust in God.