Trials are painful: When I started running a few months ago I ran 2 miles and thought my legs were going to implode but the pain was necessary for growth. 1 Peter 4:12 says, "Do not be surprised by the painful trial you are suffering, as thought something strange were happening to you." For Peter, pain and trials were connected.
Trials are necessary for growth: This last week I went on 7 and 8.5 mile runs. Those runs wouldn't have been possible without all of the pain and suffering leading up to them. Trials are horrible in the moment. During times of trial I have felt helpless and abandoned, lonely and tired but as Paul says, "We rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; character, hope; and hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into your hearts by the Holy Spirit whom he has given us." (Romans 5:3)
For some reason God chooses to use trials to shape us and build our character. I don't know why that is. I don't believe God takes joy in my pain. It seems out of God's character for him to be that cruel. Maybe the author William Newell was on to something when he wrote: "God is infinite; and there are things of God, and in God that only suffering gives the capacity to know."
I guess that's the point. Trials don't have to be enjoyable and fun. The important thing is that we learn what God wants us to learn, grow from them and move on. If you are in the middle of a trial remember that all trials end someday and that through it all Jesus says, "I will never leave you or forsake you."
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