Testing, Testing

Aww, man...Why does it seem that whenever you make progress, there are things that come along to try and drag you back down.

These trials can push you to work harder; they can can leave you with a bleeding heart in your hand; they can turn you callous and bitter to the source of the trial; they do just about anything to a man. It's how a man responds to them that defines his growth and whether that progress continues.

In the face of trial, we have the choice in how it will affect us. I often make the mistake of thinking that I have to bow to the trial and let it define how it will affect me; or I resign and say "let God deal with it." Trials are designed for our growth, though! If a man lets the trial define the outcome, he is too often left broken and in need of healing before he can continue his path of growth. If a man resigns and claims to "leave it to the Lord," he only gives up and waits for the Lord's grace to pull him out of trials. However, in times of trials, a man must stand up! Granted, to stand, he needs the Lord's strength, and he must stand on the foundation of the Lord; however, he still must stand. God is very concerned with the development and growth of His children, and we grow through willfully choosing to overcome the trials that face us. There is no growth without challenge, and there is no challenge where a man is comfortable. It is when we face loss, attack, sorrow, loneliness, affliction, etc. that we are presented the opportunity to say to the Lord, "Okay, Lord, let's partner to overcome this. I trust you will carry me through and, in this, I will grow."

So, I suppose if I am currently and constantly faced with trials, then I must embrace them and depend on the Holy Spirit to give me the strength to grow through them. Without the Lord, I may become bitter, cold, and unloving; I may be broken beyond repair; I may push myself to the point of burnout; I will fail. When I depend on the Lord, I will grow in character, experience, faith, and intimacy with God.

Hold fast, be refined, and grow.

"In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ."
1 Peter 1:6-7

"More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."
Romans 5:4-6