No one likes to be in trouble. At the slightest hint of it most of us cry out, “God save me. Deliver me now!”
We get desperate for a way out and a way out only.
How many times have you begged God to take you out of a difficult situation? How many times have you cried because the pain was too deep and the pressure too much? How many times have you fallen to your knees in utter desperation asking Him to take it all away?
But He doesn’t.
You close your eyes and open them to see the same challenge staring at you.
At such times your emotions can prompt you to doubt God’s goodness. To doubt that He cares like He says He does. (1 Peter 5:7) Your body, mind and soul may be telling you that the best thing to do is just quit.
But there is something better than giving up and that is carrying on, because sometimes the only way out of your trouble, is through it.
Sometimes The Only Way Out Is Through
Generally, when tribulation, trouble or trials come in their various horrible forms, our first instinct is to search for a way out of them. There is nothing enjoyable about going through trials and tribulation.
Yet, it is these very things that enable our faith to grow and be strengthened. It is by going through trouble that we reach a new level in our lives.
If we allow it to, trouble can shape and transform us into something new and form in us a Christ-likeness that no fleshly comfort can. But none of this can happen if we are spontaneously pulled out of hardship.
There are stories in the Bible that show the Lord allowing people to go through hardship in order to come out of it and the ways that transformed them.
Those Who Went Through To Come Out
After refusing to bow to a statue of the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego did not bypass the fiery furnace. (Daniel 3:14-22) They were thrown into it. Only once they were in this grave trouble did God rescue them out of it. (Daniel 3:14-22)
The same is true of their friend Daniel. He was thrown into the lion’s den for remaining faithful to God and refusing to worship other gods. (Daniel 6:10-17) Only once he was inside the lion’s den, did God rescue Him by closing the mouths of the lions. (Daniel 6:18-23)
In both these stories, these men were faithful to God, prayed to God and believed in God’s power, yet they still had to go through great trials and tribulation. But when they did eventually come out that tribulation, they were stronger.
Going Through Trouble Makes You Stronger
Although it is not mentioned in the Bible, it is likely that these men ordeals strengthened their faith in God. What they went through allowed them to see God’s faithfulness and power on display. Not only that, it also taught them obedience and faithfulness to God.
It’s easy to proclaim that God is sovereign and to be faithful to Him when there is no danger to your life. But when doing so means that you could die, the thought of renouncing God can be tempting. But these men did not give in to that temptation and their relationship with God was stronger for it.
If not for what they had gone through, these men would not have learned obedience, patience and perseverance. Their godly character would not have been strengthened.
The same goes for all of us.
The troubles we go through teach us patience, perseverance and strengthen our Christ-like character. They teach us obedience to God just like Jesus’ suffering taught Him obedience to God.
And that should be our desire.
Living a Life Where Trouble Is Promised
Too often, we are seeking comfort for our flesh. God understands that desperation for ease and a life free of pain and trouble after all, His initial plan was to give us that kind of life.
But the life we have now, is one in which trouble is promised. (John 16:33) So instead of trying to run away from it or always looking for a way out of it, let us learn to ask God for the strength we need to go through it.
Let us ask Him to give us the ability to look past our situations to see what He has laid ahead for us.
Let us ask Him to give us the strength to endure and persevere until we come out the other side.
And let us remember that “our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” (2 Corinthians 4:17, NKJV)
