My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.
~James 1:2-4 NRSV
Trials can come in the form of burdens added, blessings removed, or both; and James writes that "trials of any kind" are the Lord's way of bringing about maturity in the lives of His people on earth. The Lord desires to see us grow up in our walk with Him, and this often means that the heaviest lifting He does in our lives will come in the form of trials, suffering, and adversity. Maturity is a gift from God, no question, but it's not one that's given overnight. Godly maturity is forged through endurance.
And it's 'endurance' that the Lord wants to see-- when we turn to Him because we've exhausted our own resources (which, interestingly, were ALSO His, though we foolishly claimed them as our own) and simply have no other recourse but to surrender the "area-of-trial" entirely to His incomparable will, wisdom, and power. Well, it's either that or turn away from Him completely... Generally, though, if the Lord is allowing us to face significant adversity, we're already "ruined" enough for Him that we'll (albeit perhaps grudgingly) prefer suffering with Him over sunshine and roses without Him (but that's another topic entirely). Unconditional surrender to the Lord's will is where endurance begins to have its "full effect," because only when we're completely dependent on The Source of Everything can we truly say we lack nothing.
Even surrender takes its own kind of strength, though, and it's often a strength we don't possess- which could explain why certain trials tend to last far longer than expected. The Lord wants us to lean on Him even for the strength to submit.
This makes sense when viewed clinically, but trials have this tendency to hurt. Pain can obscure everything; and even when we know the truth, merely believing it in the midst of a given trial can often seem impossible. Sometimes all we can do is cling to Him; even when all of our senses are screaming at us to turn away and assume control ourselves...
The Lord knows exactly what He's doing, though, and WILL be faithful to use any trial to bring about maturity in that area of our lives...
A few thoughts that are common to those in the midst of trials (not necessarily in order):
"I think I've got this/This isn't so bad..."
This thought most typically occurs during the beginning stages of a trial, after the initial shock of a "burden added" or "blessing lost" is fully absorbed. Unfortunately, this sort of thinking is usually a sign that one is still relying on his/her strength and probably still needs to be broken...
Those who have learned to look for lessons in a given setback will likely have little trouble finding them soon after the outset of a trial (not a bad thing); and they'll begin to see ways in which "The Lord allowed X to happen to teach me Y." This MAY be true, but if it results in reliance upon one's own strength to apply the given lesson, then it's a dead end.
The Lord wants us to be fully dependent on Him-- for wisdom, for strength, for everything... And if that's the case, then His use of trials to impart "life lessons" which help us function more independently of His wisdom really wouldn't make much sense. This isn't saying that there aren't lessons to be learned when the Lord allows hardship in our lives, but THOSE are hardly His primary focus.
Look for lessons, but realize that the primary "lesson" to be learned/applied during any trial is always to draw more closely to and rely more fully upon the Lord.
"Okay Lord, I've learned my lesson, You can end this trial anytime now..."
While this is really just an extension of the first thought, it's worth differentiating between the two because this second thought represents a necessary realization that whatever takeaways we think we've gained from a trial just might not have been all the Lord was trying to show us. It's a transition between a worldly view of setbacks and the proper Biblical view.
The Lord is not a job trainer or a college professor. He's not challenging us and imparting knowledge so that we'll eventually be able to function and make sound decisions independently of His influence. Quite the opposite.
Worldly success can be had by learning from different failures and working hard to apply that knowledge to achieve independence in all areas (relational, financial, physical, and even religious). Christian maturity, on the other hand, comes from learning the SAME lesson more and more thoroughly as the Lord carries us through trials: namely that total reliance on the Lord for everything IS, in fact, everything. Independence is no longer the goal (it's a lie, anyway). Full dependence on God's perfect provision IS.
"I no longer have ANY IDEA why the Lord has brought me to this place; and I just want the suffering to end."
Total blindness, caused by pain. At this point, the pain of a given trial has become so intense that any lessons learned and any silver linings found simply pale in comparison to the weight of a burden long-carried or the sting of a blessing long-missed.
The only two options here are to either cling desperately to the Lord or to turn away (likely to _________ form of sin/self-medication).
Provided we choose the former course of action, this is where endurance can really begin to "have its full effect." The Lord desires unconditional surrender; and it starts to become a reality when we cling to His hand in spite of the fact that we can't see how or why He's brought us to this place.
"I'm Yours regardless, Lord...even if this trial NEVER ends."
This thought, I believe, is where a trial begins to produce real maturity. It's where we finally let go, arriving at a place where we are truly okay with whatever the Lord has for us in this difficult situation. The trial might be far from over; the pain might not be gone; but it just doesn't matter anymore. We now know that we're at His mercy-- and in truth, that we were the whole time.
All that's left is to let go and draw near to the Lord; trusting fully that He has the situation well in hand.
It's one thing to read John 15 and hear that we are nothing apart from the Lord. It's entirely another to know it, experience it, and be perfectly okay with it. This is where peace is found in the midst of the storm; and where I believe the Lord wants to lead us in every area of our lives that we'll let Him.
