Daily Delight
Trials. This word tends to send a shiver up our spines. Trials are painful, and there is no way to sugar coat them. I imagine them as a sort of surgery: where the specific trial you go through stretches, tears, and remolds you into a new being in Christ. As there are different levels of surgery, there are different levels of trials. From small everyday trials and discomforts to full-blown, my-life-is-turned-upside-down seasons, they are all significant to our growth and faith. Trials can completely change a person, for better or for worse.James, the brother of Jesus, wrote in his letter, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (1:2-3, ESV). As Christians, God calls us to consider our seasons of hardship, discomfort, and grief as joy. This may seem like an oxymoron, but God--our sovereign, loving, Creator--is molding us into the likeness of His Son. As James reminds us, trials are used so that we are complete in God, and fully dependent upon Him. Only in our dependence on the Creator in the midst of our trials, will we be complete.The storms and trials will come, but even they will cease. The infinite God will always be there for you, through the chaos and through the calm. Trust in Him.
About the Author
Rachel Schlotzhauer
Rachel is a recent college graduate from Grand Canyon University. Her passions include serving high schoolers at her local church and writing poetry. Rachel lives in Phoenix, AZ, with her family (including her three sisters).