Why Does God Allow Trials, Tests and Tribulations?

Why would a good God allow His children to go through trials, troubles and suffering? He has very good reasons!

Toil and Trouble

Why would a good God allow His children to go through trials, troubles and suffering? He has very good reasons! If there were never any troubles and everything went perfectly for everyone, who would need God!? Since our every need would be taken care of, why need anyone else besides ourselves? Typically, we want to avoid trials and troubles, but God uses these to bring many people to Jesus Christ and salvation. Many have said that if they had not gone through a certain crisis in life, they would never have even thought about God. Many in the prisons come to saving faith because their backs are against the wall and they have no way out but God.

No Escape

There are no shortages of troubles today, but this has been man’s lot ever since he was booted from the Garden. Job knew that “man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward” (Job 5:7), and since the whole creation is now under the curse (Gen 3:17), no one escapes trouble, trials or tribulations. They are an equal opportunity visitor to all…rich and poor, saved and the lost, so the question is how will we respond? Will we become bitter…or better for it? Will it break us or make us? Will our resolve be weakened or strengthened by life’s troubles? It is a choice left up to us, but for sure, we need God’s Spirit in order to endure and not lose our joy.

Good for Evil

When Joseph was unjustly thrown into prison, he knew that they had meant it for evil but he also understood that “God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Gen. 50:20). Just like Joseph, we are not crushed or broken by trials, but rather, we “rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet 1:6-7). Joseph was sure tested by fire, having been unjustly sold into slavery and then thrown into prison, however, Proverbs 20:30 shows how God uses problems to help us grow in holiness, as it “Blows that wound cleanse away evil; strokes make clean the innermost parts.”

Trials reveal the genuineness of our faith.

Tested by Fire

God is in the refining business. Not the oil refining business but in the business of refining us like gold is refined by fire, but the fire isn’t intended to burn us up but to refine us and clear away the dross from our lives. The Apostle Peter tells us that trials and tests are allowed “so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet 1:6-7). Peter is saying that trials and suffering show whether or not we have real faith from God or “the tested genuineness of [our] faith.”

Fiery Trials

It’s important to keep in mind the purpose of trials. They are not designed to discourage us but to refine our faith in a way that nothing else can. When the trial comes, remember Peter’s words to “not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you but rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed” (1 Pet 4:12-13). Every believer experiences trials and certainly persecution. The surprising thing is if someone who claims to believe never has any persecution. And by the way, even the unsaved go through hard places in life.

Persecution

Whether a persecution or a trial, “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you” (1 Pet 4:13-14). Our trials can bring a blessing and blessings are for lifting us up and for drawing closer to God. Jesus pronounces such a blessing, saying “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt 5:11-12).

Search and Rescue

The Apostle Peter also said that “after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (1 Pet 5:10). That means that whatever it is, it will eventually pass, and “the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment” (2 Pet 2:9). This is why the believer can “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer” (Rom 12:12). God will provide a way out even when it looks hopeless. His promise is that “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Cor 10:13). Whatever /wherever He sends you into, He will provide a way out.

Why Me Lord?

Self-Examination

There are many reasons for troubles besides shaping you into Christ’s image. The Apostle Paul says it’s not bad to “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test” (2 Cor 13:5)! This self-examination is not meant to discourage us or make us have doubts, but rather, to see if our faith is genuine or not. If not, we can ask God to help our weak faith (James 1:1-5).

Creating Reliance

If we endure trials and tests, we are forced to rely more on God and place our faith in Him and not our own hands, so the tests and trials are not intended to destroy our faithfulness to God but to test it and see how we will do when things look bad around us. There are times when trusting God is hard, but these are also opportunities to trust God when our eyes tell us differently. These trials can give us the chance to have stronger faith; growing our faith by exercising it.

A Trusted Faith

A faith that’s not tested is a faith that’s not trusted, so when our faith is tested, it doesn’t reveal anything new to God. God doesn’t test to know more about our faith…He already knows, but rather, God tests our faith so that we ourselves will know how strong or weak our faith is. Only a tested faith is a trusted faith.

Weaned From the World

The football game no longer has our interest if we’re in a trial.

Trials and tests suddenly make things in the world less important. The football game no longer has our interest if we’re in a trial. We’re focused on the crisis and how to get help…generally it drives us to our knees and away from worldly things. Who cares what the score is if your child has run away from home or is in trouble with the law?

Conclusion

God allows everything that happens to you for His purposes and good intentions (Rom 8:28). If it’s happened to you, it’s for your best, even if it doesn’t feel like it. If you have never trusted in Christ and God has never brought you to repentance, then trials in this life pale in comparison to the eternal judgment to come on all who reject Christ and eternal suffering for all time (Rev 21:8). Either trust in Him today while there is still time (Psalm 95:7-8; 2 Cor 6:2; Heb 13:7-15), or face judgment after death (Heb 9:27) or at Jesus’ appearance (Rev 1:7, 20:12-15), either of which could come today!

Here is some related reading for you: How Trials, Troubles and Tribulations Bring People to Christ

Resource – Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^® (ESV^®), Crossway Bibles. (2007). ESV: Study Bible: English standard version. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Tagged as: faith, Problems, rials, Suffering, testing, Tribulations