God Designs Trials to Strengthen Your Faith with Staying Power
- Jack Selcher
- Sep 18
- 3 min read
You work against resistance to exercise your muscles. You exercise your faith by facing and conquering trials and difficulties.
Trials are to your faith what barbells are to muscles. God is the perfect Coach. He puts your faith through challenging times to spur your spiritual growth.
My first response in trials is often, “Why did this happen to me?” James looks beyond the superficial. He sees reasons for rejoicing amid sorrow, grief, and pain.
For James, spiritual health is more important than physical health. Trials are God’s surgery to make you whole.
Trials develop perseverance. When everything possible is going wrong, God isn’t measuring your patience, resourcefulness, or intelligence. He is evaluating your faith.
Tested faith has staying power. Only faith with pit bull tenacity finishes well.
Trials develop your faith. They equip you for your divine assignments. God uses them to cut away the not-like-Jesus parts of your life.
Yes, I know. I do not like them either. Part of the problem is that I naturally value my comfort more than my spiritual health. I’m fairly sure you do too.
Life’s tough times require wisdom. Wisdom does not know why life is suddenly upside down. It knows what its response should be when they are upside down.
Wisdom is skillfully applying God’s truth to life. God gives wisdom generously. He will not turn you down or chew you out for coming too often to ask Him for it (James 1:5).
Unbelief is a barrier between you and God’s wisdom. To ask in faith means trusting God wants to give you His best gifts (Matthew 7:9-11), despite the circumstances.
He did not withhold His best when He sent His Son. He will not withhold any other good thing you need for life and godliness (Romans 8:32, 2 Peter 1:3).
Beware of wavering between self-sufficiency and trust in God when you ask for wisdom. Depending on yourself is like building your house on sand.
God designs trials to pack staying power into your faith in Him. How have trials refined your faith?
Tough times strike everyone. “Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position” (James 1:9, NIV). Through faith, they are co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17).
Rich believers are made low because all are equal in Christ. Their superiority is gone. Their humiliation may also refer to the humbling experience of persecution for Christ’s sake.
A reward awaits when you pass the faith test. Blessed refers to your enviable, joyous state when you do not buckle under tough times but trust steadfastly in God. Persevering during trials results in God’s approval, which brings “the crown of life.”
Face adversity. Like an airplane, you reach your intended heights heading into the wind together with other Christ-followers doing the same. What is your takeaway? See additional free spiritual growth resources for Christians.
God has empowered me to write His Power for Your Weakness—260 Steps Toward Spiritual Strength. It’s a free, evangelistic, devotional, and discipleship e-book. Pastors have used it in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia to lead 6,090 people to Christ and teach the basics of Christianity to 15,150 people. I invite you to explore and use it in your setting.