Ten years ago, I went through one of the worst seasons of my life. I had been unexpectedly laid off, and it took me seven months before I was able to find another job. And those seven months might as well have been seven years.
I remember there were many days and weeks where I was working on my resume, networking, applying for jobs, having interviews, and following up—doing all the things that you’re supposed to be doing when you need to find a job and you’re out of work. And time and time again, I just kept hitting wall after wall after wall.
I remember many days getting on my knees, going on long walks, asking God: God, when is this going to be over? When are you going to provide for me? What am I doing wrong?
And I think if we all are honest and look back on our lives, we have had different moments and seasons where we’re like, God, where are you? When can I get out of this season? Maybe you’re going through one right now.
As believers, what do we do when we’re in a season of life that we can’t wait to get out of?
In James 1:3, James—the half-brother of Jesus—writes:
“For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.”
James is writing to first-century Jewish Christians who are going through persecution. They had originally been in Jerusalem, but because of persecution, many of them had been forced to leave their homes and go to foreign countries to find refuge. These are people who had to give up just about everything for Jesus.
And James is telling them, “Hey—when your faith is being tested, like it is now (and like all of our faiths get tested in different moments and seasons of our life), use this as an opportunity to let your endurance grow.”
He says even a couple verses before this, “Consider it joy.” Now, James isn’t—he hasn’t hit his head; there’s nothing wrong with him. He’s saying: use this as an opportunity.
Turn this trial into training.
When you go through trials, don’t waste it. Use this trial as training for your faith—to grow in your faith, to develop perseverance, to develop endurance.
And I’ll be honest: that’s a really hard thing to do. That’s not something that comes naturally to me, or to many other Christians that I talk to. But James is saying: use your trials as training to grow in your faith and to develop perseverance and endurance.
Because here’s the thing——we can be so focused on getting out of something that we miss what we can get out of it. So often we’re focused on getting out of it that we miss what God wants us to get out of it.
I want you to be thinking about whether it’s a past season of hardship, or maybe one that you’re going through right now.
Questions to sit with:
- God, how can I use this trial as training?
- What is it that you want me to get out of this season before I get out of this season?
- What do you want to do in me and through me as a result of all of this?
Maybe right now you’re not going through a trial—maybe this is one of those mountaintop seasons, and that’s awesome. This is still great for you to marinate on for when you go through a valley.
But if you are either coming out of a valley, or you find yourself in the middle of one today: Lord, how can I use this trial as training so that my endurance has a chance to grow?
How can I turn this trial into training?
Jeff McClung 