10102020 Life's Worst Trial

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of our faithful God, who never leaves us, no matter what.

Lesson #9. For each of us, there is a trial that will be the hardest one of our entire lives. Humans tend to forget some of the difficulty of past trials once the victory comes (John 16:21) and as memory fades over time, so it often happens that we perceive current trials as worse than those that came before, although they may not always be. Successive trials don't always get harder; sometimes they're different, and sometimes they're just really hard again.

For Job, (at least as far as Scripture indicates) this was the hardest. He had previously lived a life of blessing, and he entered a life of greater blessing afterward, but this trial was tough. Even his friends were overwhelmed and speechless at the magnitude of Job's suffering. It seemed like too much to bear. "And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven. So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great" (2:12-13).

Job's own words speak of his immense anguish. He wished he had never been born. "Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?" (3:11). He wanted to die. "Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures" (3:21). He was in the middle of his worst nightmare. "For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me" (3:25). His life was ruined. "My days are past, my purposes are broken off, even the thoughts of my heart" (17:11). In other words, this was the worst it had ever been in Job's life, and apparently even the worst that he could imagine.

When we identify these worst times in our own lives, we must be anchored by remembering truth about God. This is why we have the rest of Job's story and the rest of the Bible. We know that Job did survive. We know that Job returned to a life of blessing. We know that God carried him through. We know that God is in control, that He cares, that He has compassion. We know that His grace is sufficient - even for the very worst times. Knowing that Job faced his worst and emerged gives us hope that God will do the same for us.

There is sobering aspect to this idea of a "life's worst" trial, which is that such a designation may be temporary. If we had asked Job after the third servant's message, he undoubtedly would have identified his current situation as the hardest trial of his life. And then the fourth servant came with the message about his children. Now Job could unequivocally state that this was his hardest trial. But not long after, it got even harder when his health was destroyed and he was left without support.

It happens that way in life. What we think is the worst may be only the worst so far. It frequently seems to be God's design to increase the difficulty as we go through life, as we grow in maturity, in order to bring about greater levels of growth. Not too long ago, I heard a pastor preach this concept, and something rose up inside me in protest. It made me a little angry (and not at the preacher). My thoughts were something like this: "That's not fair. If I ever make it through this challenging time that threatens to crush me, that should mark a time of relief. I want to lie on the other side of this, relieved that I made it through, that I crossed the hurdle and mounted the barrier. I shouldn't have to look up and see a greater barrier (ever again)."

But God has to be God, and I have to accept that. God knows what He wants to accomplish, and He knows how to accomplish His goal. It is truth that maturity comes through endurance, and it is truth that faith grows as it is tested, and it is truth that trials are preparation for service. God knows how hot He has to make the fire to get the desired result, and He knows that if He made it that hot the first time, it would kill us. So He gradually and progressively works up to what is needed. The help and maturity that He builds in us in lesser trials become the foundation for survival and increasing maturity in greater trials. We are equipped for the "hardest" by what God works in us through the lesser, as we realize that the same grace and truth that worked the last time still hold true.

Think of Abraham. Having to pack up and leave his family and homeland, not knowing where he was going. Hardest thing he ever had to do? No, Abraham, that was the easy one. What about Joseph, being hated and mocked by his brothers? Just wait. Or Moses, a fugitive, separated from his family, being a shepherd for forty years? Not so bad, considering what was coming. David, a lowly shepherd, barely even considered in comparison with his brothers? A minor annoyance. Each of these men faced much harder trials. Abraham was asked to sacrifice the child of promise for whom he had waited so long. Joseph, unjustly thrown into prison, languished for years, even forgotten when he thought he finally had hope. Moses, as an old man, wandered in the desert for forty years, trying to lead rebellious people who sometimes wanted to kill him. David faced civil wars with his own sons on the other side.

But if one trial is the hardest in life, that means that at some point the hardest will be past. That clearly happened for Job and for Joseph, as they entered times of prosperity and joy. As far as we know, Abraham never again faced a challenge as hard as the call to sacrifice Isaac. David reached a time of stability and even achieved peace with surrounding nations.

I don't want anything harder in my life. I don't even want more trials as hard as the ones I've already gone through. But what I really want is to be what God wants me to be. I want to have the testimony that these men had, of pleasing God, of finding His approval, of passing the test. If and when future trials come, O God, give me grace and help me to be faithful! And help me to remember that even in life's worst, You are enough.

May God bless you, my sisters, and carry you through whatever this week holds. If God allows, may it be a time of blessing, and if He chooses otherwise, may it be a time of growth.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA