And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son… Romans 8:28-29
One of the great truths of Scripture is that God is constantly working in the lives of His children – even when we don’t understand what He is doing. Paul tells us plainly that God causes everything to work for our good. Not some things. Not just the easy things. Everything. And in verse 29, he tells us what that good actually is: that we might be conformed to the image of His Son.
In other words, God’s ultimate purpose for your life is Christlikeness. And that means He will often use trials, hardships, suffering, and affliction as tools in His hands to shape you.
Loved one, this isn’t a new idea. James, the half-brother of Jesus, wrote that when we face various trials, we are to count it all joy. Why? Because the testing of our faith produces endurance – and endurance makes us mature and complete. James did not write that from an ivory tower. He would himself eventually be martyred for refusing to deny Christ.
Peter was no stranger to suffering either. He wrote, “Don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you’re going through, as though something strange were happening to you.” He knew personally how painful trials can be. So did Paul. Beatings, shipwrecks, prison, and a mysterious “thorn in the flesh” – all were part of the process God used to shape Paul into the man he was.
And notice, the trials these men faced weren’t just persecution. James said we’d face all kinds of trials: physical, emotional, relational, spiritual. Yet both Paul and James agreed: God uses them, all of them, for a holy purpose.
The truth is, trials stretch us. They humble us. They produce compassion and empathy. They strip away pride and self-reliance. Often they are the very means God uses to answer our own prayers for spiritual growth.
Think about it. When a trial comes, our first question is often, “Lord, why me? I don’t deserve this.” But when a blessing comes, do we ever protest, “Lord, I don’t deserve this! Give it to someone else”? Of course not. We assume the blessings and resist the trials that actually shape us.
Now, of course it isn’t wrong to pray for relief. Scripture encourages us to ask for God’s mercy. But if we ask the Lord to make us more like Christ, we must understand what we’re really asking. Christlikeness comes through suffering. That’s hard to swallow, I know. I mean, I’m not going out and looking for pain and suffering and you’re probably not either. But the thing is – we don’t have to. It finds us. And even though it’s not fun or comfortable, it does have a purpose.
Even Paul, after praying three times for God to remove his thorn, finally came to realize that God had a purpose in it. God knew exactly what Paul needed in order to keep him humble and usable.
You may not like the trial you’re in today. You may not understand it. But your Heavenly Father knows exactly what He’s doing. And He promises – not just that you’ll get through it – but that He will use it to make you more like His Son.
P.S. –> God will comfort us in our troubles. But He does so with the expectation that we do the same for others in their troubles also.
He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.
2 Corinthians 1:4
Former Blackout Artist 