He wanted to be certain they knew God’s intention to bless them, but He didn’t want them deceived into thinking life as followers of Christ was without trials and suffering. James said we shouldn’t just expect them, but rejoice whenever we face troubles of many kinds. Because it’s the testing of our faith, not the blessing of houses and farms and other means of prosperity, that produces in us perseverance so that we’re mature and complete lacking in nothing (Jas 1:2-4).
I’ve found this principle to be true, not just in my own life but in countless others, including people of faith in the Bible. Each life reveals God’s sovereign plan of interconnected blessings and trials that He somehow uses for His glory and the good of those He loves.
There’s Abraham and Isaac
God sought out Abraham and promised his offspring would be uncountable, more numerous than the stars. Though Abraham and Sarah were too old to have a child they believed God and took Him at His word. Even though they were promised a gift beyond comprehension, it carried with it the trial of waiting thirty years as they moved from place to place, following God’s leading. Once Isaac was born, Abraham may have thought his season of struggle was over. But God in His wisdom allowed Abraham to go through a painful surrender of his only son. While God wanted him to enjoy the blessing, he wanted even more to test Abraham’s heart and protect him from idolatry.
Then there’s Jacob wrestling for a blessing
As he fought all night with the angel of the Lord, Jacob wouldn’t let go until God blessed him. Interestingly, he got the gift he so longed for – along with a “touch” on his hip socket. Jacob left that place with the blessing of a new name signifying his overcoming spirit, but he also had a new limp to remind him that he’d wrestled with the Lord. He knew Jacob needed both – the promise of His favor after all he’d suffered, and a symbolic reminder that God’s power was infinitely greater than his own.
The Israelites asking for deliverance
As the Israelites were crying out to God to rescue them from exile, He assured them of plans to “prosper them and not to harm them – to give them hope and a future” (Jer 29:11). But, in the context of that promise, He also gave them the hard news that they would go through seventy more years of exile before they came to a place of humble submission, seeking Him with all their hearts. He knew what they needed to receive the promised blessing, and it included the trial of suffering for many more years.
Jonah, David and Jeremiah
One of my favorite prophets, Jonah, was blessed with taking the Good News to the Ninevites, but only at the cost of giving up his own desires, demands and prejudices.
David received God’s promise that the throne would remain with his descendants forever. Yet, shortly after being anointed by the Spirit, he was thrown into an intense trial of being hunted down by King Saul. His blessing of ruling as king included many chapters of suffering, including hiding in caves where he was pleading for God to protect him.
Jeremiah, appointed by God as a “prophet to the nations”, was reminded he’d been chosen for the job before he was born. God gave him an extraordinary task of tearing down and destroying as well as building and planting nations. But, this blessing didn’t come without a cost. God reminded him at the start “they will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you.” Jeremiah, known as the weeping prophet, was threatened with treason, thrown into a pit and left to die. He was given a great calling but daily faced threats on his life.
And many others
Hebrews gives a brief list of them in chapter eleven saying, “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised.” Some were “tortured, put in prison, stoned, sawed in two, killed by the sword, “destitute, persecuted and mistreated…They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.” These men and women of faith, great leaders in His earthly kingdom, were blessed with God’s presence, given the Spirit’s power and wisdom. They each had the sense of knowing that they were called by God for specific tasks as Kingdom builders, but they had to suffer intensely as part of the blessing.
The mysterious interconnection of blessings and trials
It’s almost impossible to experience blessings without trials, at least in all the lives I’ve seen in the Bible and those I’ve been close to. Yet even with the overwhelming evidence that points to this reality, we tend to form a dichotomy that almost polarizes the two, keeping us from accepting them as part of the same package. In fact, we ask for blessings all the time without even thinking that suffering is going to be an important part in receiving and being able to enjoy them.
I’m coming to a place where I’m ready to accept the truth, as painful as it is. By embracing them both, I can enjoy what I consider the “good stuff” without becoming addicted to it. At the same time, I can be certain that trials will be part of the package. For reasons beyond my comprehension God allows them to be interconnected. He’s the giver of every good and perfect gift – both the blessings and the trials. And often the greater blessing comes out of the trial.
