“Enjoying” our life’s trials is obviously a stretch. Even so, we are indeed fortunate to have trials and afflictions because they are the best way for us to learn what makes us complete in Christ.
I call it “joyful pain.” I know, it sounds crazy but stick with me here.
We don’t revel in the trials of life or look forward to tribulation; we seek other, more pleasant things. But when trials do come, we can eagerly anticipate learning valuable lessons from them that will benefit our own spiritual growth and the spiritual growth of those we touch.
The key word there is CAN. We certainly can look forward to seeing what God does with whatever challenge is knocking on the door. But it takes an intentional push in that direction for us to reach this level of “joyful pain.”
And that’s a good thing because God uses each one of these episodes to build our faith and to solidify our trust in him so we can grow spiritually, honor him, and build his Kingdom.
“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.” James 1:2-4
Here’s my approach…
I ask God to help me resist the urge to “process pain” with the goal of making it go away. Instead, I try to process it as a faith-building tool for me to grow closer to him.
