“Why have You brought this trouble on Your servant?” – Numbers 11:11

WHY?

Our heavenly Father often allows troubles to come our way to test our faith. And if our faith is genuine, it will endure the test. Fake gold fears the fire, but real gold does not. An imitation gem trembles at the touch of a diamond, but the true jewel welcomes it.

Faith that only trusts God when friends are kind, the body is healthy, and business is thriving is weak faith indeed. True faith holds firmly to God’s faithfulness when friends have left, when the body is sick, when the heart is heavy, and when the light of God’s presence seems hidden. The kind of faith that can say in the darkest hour, “Even if He kills me, I will still trust Him,” is faith born of heaven.

The Lord allows His servants to experience affliction so that He might glorify Himself. He is honored through the grace and character He works in His people. When “trouble produces endurance, and endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope,” God is glorified by these growing virtues.

We would never know the music of the harp if its strings were never touched. We would never taste the sweetness of the grape if it were not crushed in the winepress. We would never smell the fragrance of cinnamon if it were not pressed and ground. Nor would we feel the warmth of the fire if the coals were not consumed.

In the same way, the wisdom and power of the Master Craftsman are revealed through the trials His vessels of mercy endure. Our present sufferings also prepare us for greater joy to come. Every painting needs shadows to reveal the brightness of its light. Would heaven’s happiness be so deep if we had never known sin’s sorrow and earth’s pain? Won’t peace feel sweeter after the battle, and rest more welcome after hard labor? The memory of our sufferings will only make heaven’s joy more complete.