Trials are a normal part of human lives. As humans, we wish to be free from them but they will come, sooner or later. Sometimes they are overwhelming to the point that we’re unsure if we can go through it.
The hardest part of my life so far was when my father had to undergo an open-heart surgery. I was in the car with him, in Jakarta’s notorious traffic 2 weeks before the surgery when he had a panic attack and said he couldn’t breathe. That moment and the moments leading to his surgery were the scariest time of my life.
In times like this, I could only draw strength from prayer and God’s word. I hope that these bible verses about trials and struggles will help you too.
These verses are organized as answers to the questions that we may have when we’re suffering. They remind us of God’s realities and promises.
Table of Contents
- Why does God allow adversity in your life?
- Is God angry with me?
- Or, has God forgotten about me?
- What does God say about challenges?
- How to suffer well
- Who in the Bible overcame adversity?
Why does God allow adversity in your life?
If you face an overwhelming problem in your life, you may wonder why that is. The bible shares that sufferings have different purposes:
As a discipline
Some suffering is given to correct a person for wrongful patterns of life. An example of this is Jonah facing a big storm when he disobeyed God (Jonah 1).
In the book of Hebrews, the apostle Paul wrote that God disciplines his children, just like a father disciplining his children with love.
Hebrews 12: 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.
Preparation for future tasks
Some suffering is given to prepare someone for a bigger purpose. Joseph is the prime example of this. He was betrayed by his brothers, sold as a slave, accused by Potiphar’s wife and thrown into jail. He became Pharaoh’s right-hand man and saved Egypt and people from different countries from dying out of famine.
Joseph suffered for many years, but yet in all of his suffering, he was right where God wanted him to be. He said to his brothers who betrayed him: As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today (Gen 50:20).
To draw you nearer to God
Some suffering is given to lead a person to love God more. Paul says in 2 Cor 1:8–9: For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. (ESV)
While it can be tough to discern why exactly we’re going through suffering, we can be comforted that our hardship is not meaningless. It has a purpose, even if we might not find out what it is in this lifetime.
Is God angry with me?
The amount of suffering that we face in life is not correlated with how sinless or morally upright someone is. Good people don’t live problem-free and if you look around, you may know bad people that are living very good lives.
Just because you’re facing big problems, that doesn’t mean that God is upset with you. The ultimate example is Jesus – he was a man of grief. He was innocent and blameless yet he suffered.
Another example of this is Job. In the book of Job, his friends say that Job must have done something wrong. This might be a more intuitive view for us humans who love to live in comfort. However, this is not a biblical perspective.
Jesus confirmed this in his interaction with his disciples regarding the blind man:
John 9:2-3: And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. (ESV)
In the blind man’s case, Jesus healed him miraculously and others around him saw Jesus’ power. His suffering led to God’s glory.
Although it is emotionally challenging to believe that God isn’t upset with us when we have bad circumstances, we have to remember that God doesn’t condemn those who believe in him. Paul wrote about this explicitly in the book of Romans and Thessalonians:
Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (ESV)
1 Thes 5:9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ (ESV)
Or, has God forgotten about me?
In a long period of trouble, it’s easy to question God’s love for us. You may struggle with an illness for a long time and you have prayed continuously for years. When you don’t get better, you may wonder: has God stopped loving me?
In fact, this is Jesus’ cry on the cross Ellai ellai lama sabachtani: my God, my God, why have you forsaken me. It is a natural response when suffering doesn’t seem to end.
That’s why it’s helpful to be encouraged by the bible. In Romans 8, apostle Paul specifically spoke about the suffering that we have to endure, but they are not because God forsakes us:
Rom 8:28: And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (ESV)
All things mean everything that happens in our lives – whether it’s good or bad, according to our desires or not. So even if it seems unthinkable how our suffering can bring good, we need to keep reminding ourselves from the book of truth that God promises to work it for good.
What does God say about challenges?
In order for a tailor to make a nice dress, he must know what the dress will be used for. We can be effective at our tasks only when we know what the end goal is.
So to suffer well, we must know what suffering is for. We have discussed the different purposes that suffering may serve, but what is the point of our suffering?
Paul explained this in James 1:2-4: Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (ESV)
Here, Paul is saying that ALL kinds of trials are given to draw us nearer to God. They’re all given so that we can grow our faith in God – trusting that He is loving, wise and sufficient for all seasons of life.
How to suffer well
If the goal of our hard times is to grow in Christ, then how should we go through it?
Don’t be surprised
We are living in a fallen world and that means sooner or later, we will be subject to pain. All human beings, believers, atheists and everyone in between will face problems in their lives – death, loss of loved ones, financial turbulence, illness, etc. The apostle Paul referred to this as the world’s bondage to corruption in Romans 8:21.
But on top of those sufferings, followers of Jesus Christ are also warned that they will be persecuted.
Rom 8:16-17: The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. (ESV)
Matthew 5:10, 2 Timothy 3:12, Luke 6:22 are a few of many verses in the scripture that warn about persecutions as Christ’s followers.
What does this mean practically? Don’t be surprised when it comes. Yes, you may grieve when suffering comes, but don’t treat it as an injustice. Because Jesus was a man of grief, but his sufferings glorified him.
We should rejoice when we suffer well because it means we’re making progress in our faith. When we come out from the suffering stronger, we should be happy like a coach getting excited when he sees his student level up.
Obey God
When we’re troubled, it is easy to stop going to church, praying, or serving others. We may think that our suffering entitles us to some sins that give us momentary high. We might isolate ourselves because we assume that others don’t understand what we’re going through, or we may think we don’t have the bandwidth to love others.
But without the encouragement, help and love of our loved ones, going through suffering will be more difficult.
When we have negative and ungodly voices in our heads, the word of God and the encouragement of our brothers and sisters are key to combating them.
Trust in God
Commit yourself and trust the Lord. You can say “Lord, I don’t know why I’m going through this, but I trust you.” Our God is a God who suffered the ultimate death to save us.
When you feel condemned, forgotten and unloved, go deep into the word of God and ask yourself. Does God love me? Does God know about my struggles? Does God forgive me? Is he trustworthy?
You may not have answers to other questions, but knowing these answers is all you need to go through your suffering victoriously. Remember that suffering in patience can glorify God. May our suffering bring us growth and victory.
Who in the Bible overcame adversity?
The Bible confirms the above posture from characters of faith who overcame adversity. Job and Joseph, as discussed above, remained faithful through their trials and came out victorious.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego trusted God no matter the outcome when they were thrown into a blazing furnace for refusing to worship Nebuchadnezzar’s gods. David was anointed as king, yet he had to run from Saul’s murder attempts because Saul was jealous of David.
Moses saw no way out when the Egyptian war chariots pursued the Israelites to the Red Sea. Zechariah and Elizabeth couldn’t bear a child for many, many years before God granted them a child.
These characters suffer from different things: persecution, jealousy (human sin), God’s calling and a long waiting period. But they overcame all obstacles with trust in God. God didn’t take all of their problems away instantly, but their endurance of their trials all glorified God.
