Learning Our Way Through Trials

When we go through trials, we tend to ask, “Why?” But the book of Job reveals another question we should be asking.

It’s no secret—just turn on the evening news and you will see that there is a lot of pain and suffering in our world. Fires, crime, war, illness, loss of possessions, loss of loved ones are just a few examples. The question often asked is “Why?”

Why do people suffer? When we are personally going through a trial we typically ask, “Why did God let this happen to me?” Some people seem to have it all—wealth, good health, friends and family—while others struggle through one trial after another. Sometimes this seems plain unfair.

Job’s major trial

The biblical patriarch Job asked the same question through his long trial: “Why?” Before his loss, Job was a wealthy and successful man whom God considered one of His great servants (Job 1:3, 8). We are told he was a very righteous man who strived to live his life with integrity (verse 1). He had a wife, children, friends and great possessions. Job was a living example of a prosperous life.

But suddenly disaster struck, and all those possessions were gone (verses 13-19). All that he had left was his wife and his own weakened body, covered from head to toe with boils (Job 2:7-8). Job found himself in the midst of a major trial—a trial unlike anything we will probably face in our lives.

Job’s wife and friends began to wonder why all of this was happening—and came up with their own theories. “Come on, Job, what did you do?” “What did you do to cause God to punish you in this way?” It was easier for them to think that Job had committed some bad deed to cause this tragedy, than to think that something much deeper, something that they could not fully understand, was happening behind the scenes. They also did not realize that God was actually sparing Job’s life (Job 2:6). In their desperation to explain Job’s suffering, they added to it.

Multiple reasons for trials

There are so many variables when we are in the midst of a trial. We don’t always know all of the facts. Trials are like looking in different mirrors searching for answers. In one mirror things look perfect. It’s how we usually see ourselves. In another mirror things might be magnified. We may see things up close, and sometimes it’s a bit much for us to take. When looking through the magnified mirror, we see things that we did not know were there and other things that just look so overwhelming. Another mirror might show a distorted view. That’s the one that makes things look completely disfigured, with every feature distorted in some way.

The reasons for a trial are not always obvious and easy to figure out. A trial can be due to sins that we are committing, to something that we are not doing, or to choices we make that are not right for us. Other times a trial can come from circumstances totally outside of our control. It can come as quickly as making a stop at a grocery store, only to find when you return to your car that the car beside yours caught on fire and caused extensive damage to your car, destroying valuable irreplaceable items. Or it can be a series of events. The reason that it happened does not replace the loss. When trying to make sense of it, we may have too much information or information that is not relevant. We may even convince ourselves that things are just fine. Often our friends and family see us through these mirrors and give us advice according to what they see—just as Job’s wife and friends saw Job’s distorted reflection and could not make sense of it.

Key to trials: ask the right questions

We can’t always know the direct cause of our suffering. Perhaps a more beneficial question than “Why?” would be, “What can I learn through this?” Learning through the suffering will help improve our lives. We may learn more things about ourselves by the way we handle the trial. Trials can help us build character, teach us patience and help us develop a better understanding of who God is. Paul, a man well acquainted with trials, wrote: “And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Romans 5:3-4).

The key to getting through a trial is not always trying to determine the cause (though that’s important if the cause is sin), but focusing on what can be learned through and after the trial.

Job’s humility and reverence for God was challenged through his trial. Job had to learn to trust God through his trial. If we seek to debate God and say, “It’s not fair,” we are questioning His judgment.

Learn your way through trials

If we learn our way through our trials by trusting God, we will position ourselves to be blessed and restored in many ways. When Job was finally able to look in the mirror clearly and learn the lessons he needed to learn, God blessed him immensely (Job 42:12-16). Job found himself better off than he had been before. We can also be better through our trials. Trials are painful and may not seem fair, but God always knows why we are suffering, and He can help us as we learn our way through them.

To read a personal account of how a modern woman dealt with a serious trial, read Hope in the Midst of Trials.

Gloria Carey and her husband, Todd, serve the Church of God, a Worldwide Association, congregations in Williamsburg, Virginia, and Delmar, Delaware.