It’s often said that trials are given to us to endure to prepare us for the blessings to come. I think I’ve mentioned off and on here about some trials that our family endured over the summer, but I can already see the blessings to come are the result of God refining my character and my wife’s and asking us to have faith in Him to deliver His promise.
Imagine that… having to have faith in God to do what He has promised, as if He needs to prove Himself. But, I think that He also understands that when we are in those trials, it’s not a heavy hand of proof that we need, but gentleness instead that He is there to be counted upon. Life is not always a bowl of cherries, but it’s nice to know that there is one with you who will help you pick out the pits.
Lew Wallace’s book Ben-Hur tells the story of a Jewish aristocrat betrayed by his best friend and condemned to serve as a galley slave in the Roman navy. On a forced march to the ship, Judah Ben-Hur meets Jesus of Nazareth, whose compassion fills him with hope. Eventually, Ben-Hur saves the Roman commander during battle. In gratitude, the commander adopts Ben-Hur as his son, instantly elevating him from slave to heir.
That’s what happens to us when God adopts us into His family. But great privilege brings great responsibility. Paul said that we become “heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him” (Rom. 8:17). The gospel does not say, “Come to Jesus and live happily ever after.” God’s syllabus for His children’s education includes training through hardships.
Ben-Hur’s years of enduring hardship as a Roman slave strengthened him and increased his endurance. He eventually defeated his “friend-turned-enemy” in a chariot race. As endurance and training were key to Ben-Hur’s victory, so are they vital to victory in the Christian’s war with sin and evil. The hard times we endure are God’s way to prepare us for greater service for His glory.
