Youth After God's Own Heart

In chapter 10 of Dr. MacArthur’s book, Welcome to the Family, he discusses about the reality of true Christianity in times of hardship and disappointments.

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The pathway of Christianity seems smooth and beautiful when everything in your life is going well. But the power of Christianity becomes most apparent in times of hardship and disappointment. Like a mountain climber who doesn’t know how strong his safety rope is until he falls, a Christian doesn’t know how genuine his faith is until it is tested. How you respond to a fire on the pathway of life reveals whether your faith is genuine or not.

Everyone endures some measure of trouble. That is the consequence of the Fall, the natural result of sinful human nature and of a world and society corrupted by iniquity. Job 5:7 says, “Man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward.”

Jesus warned the disciples, “In the world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33). Even as a child of God, you are not exempt from problems. Trouble is inevitable in marriage and family life (1 Corinthians 7:28). You also can expect occasional crises in your job, school, and even in the church. And you can depend on encountering trouble because of your faith. Paul reminded Timothy, “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12). If you are a true believer, affliction will force you to think more deeply about your true spiritual condition, which will free you from self-deception about your salvation and a dependence on self-righteousness.

THE ULTIMATE QUESTION: WHY?

Why should Christians have to suffer? If a merciful and omnipotent God is in control of your life, how can He let horrible things happen? This is probably the most asked question of the past two thousand years! Scripture has the answers to all the questions of life, including that one. When you are burdened by trials, God’s Word will comfort you with an understanding of why you need to endure them:

To Test the Strength of Your Faith. God assists us in taking a spiritual inventory of the quality and genuineness of our faith. Those who become bitter and self-pitying when trouble comes clearly expose their weak faith. But those who turn to the Lord as trouble increases demonstrate strong faith.

According to Proverbs 17:3, “The Lord tests the hearts.” The apostle Peter said, “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6–7).

These tests are not for God’s sake, because He already knows what’s in your heart. They are for your benefit so you can know if your faith is real or not. But be assured of this: no trial, no matter how severe, can destroy genuine saving faith, because one who is saved “endures to the end” (Matthew 24:13).

To Humble You. Trials remind us to not let our trust in the Lord turn into presumption and spiritual self-satisfaction. The greater our blessings, the more Satan will tempt us to look on them as our own accomplishments or what is rightfully due us, rather than as what we have received entirely from the Lord. Satan wants you to be proud; God wants you to be humble. The apostle Paul recognized, “Lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure” (2 Corinthians 12:7).

To Wean You from Worldly Advantage. The more we accumulate material possessions and worldly knowledge, experience, and notoriety, the more we are tempted to rely on them instead of the Lord. Certain worldly benefits, such as education, success on the job, and honors bestowed are not bad things in themselves, but they can easily become the focus of our concern and the basis of our trust.

One great example of how to treat worldly advantage is Moses: “By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward” (Hebrews 11:24–26).

To Call You to an Eternal Hope. The harder our trials become and the longer they last, the more we look forward to being with the Lord. Paul said, “We also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint” (Romans 5:3–5). If your hope is in heaven, you’ll never be disappointed by anything in this life. Suffering is the first step in producing that hope.

Paul expressed his heavenly hope when he said, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:17–18). The greater your trials, the sweeter your hope of heaven becomes.

To Reveal What You Really Love. The great patriarch Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac (Genesis 22:1–14; Hebrews 11:17–19) not only proved his faith, but also his supreme love for the Lord. All of God’s promises and Abraham’s hopes were bound up in Isaac. Yet when God commanded him to kill Isaac as a sacrifice, Abraham was ready to obey. God stopped him, spared Isaac, and provided another sacrifice. But his willingness proved that he loved God above all else, even more than his own son. To love God is the greatest commandment, and here we see that trials help us to love Him as we ought.

To Teach You Obedience. The psalmist acknowledged, “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word…It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes” (Psalm 119:67, 71). The painful sting of affliction ought to remind you that sin has consequences. So God uses trials to make you obey and pursue holiness.

To Teach You to Value God’s Blessings. Our reason tells us to value the world and the things of the world, and our senses tell us to value pleasure and ease. But through trials, faith tells us to value the things of God, with which He has blessed us abundantly—including His Word, His care, His provision, His strength, and, of course, His salvation. David declared, “Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name” (Psalm 63:3–4).

To Strengthen You for Greater Usefulness. The more you are tested and refined by trials, the more effective you’ll be in serving the Lord. Paul said, “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). Hebrews 11 exalts those godly men and women “who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong” (verses 33–34).

To Enable You to Help Others in Their Trials. Jesus told Peter, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren” (Luke 22:31–32). God allowed Peter to suffer not only to strengthen him for greater usefulness, but also to prepare him to strengthen others. God will use trials to do the same in your life. And we can look to Christ as our example: “For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted” (Hebrews 2:18).

RIGHT RESPONSES

Now you know why God brings trials into your life. But what should you do about it? What is your right response? In the same way Scripture explains why trials make you a better Christian, it also tells you how to react. James 1:2–12 details five key responses that will help you to persevere through your trials.

A Joyful Attitude. As a Christian, God has commanded you to view your trials with all joy: “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials” (James 1:2). James is referring to a unique fullness of joy the Lord graciously provides for you when you willingly, and without complaint, endure troubles while trusting Him. You can trust in the promise and goodness of our Lord—that’s how you can view trials as a welcome friend.

We are not just to act joyful—we are to be genuinely joyful. Your joy is to be a matter of your will, not your feelings. It requires a conscious, determined commitment on your part. Since God commands it, you can be sure it is within your ability and under the Spirit’s provision. Genuine faith in Christ will result in thanksgiving and rejoicing even in the midst of the worst of troubles.

The more you rejoice in your trials, the more you will realize that they are not liabilities, but privileges, ultimately beneficial and not harmful, no matter how painful they might be at the moment. When you face trials with a joyful attitude, you will discover that the greatest benefit is drawing closer to God, the source of your joy. Trials will force you to seek Him in prayer and to study His Word, which will increase your joy all the more as you experience His presence, goodness, love, and grace.

An Understanding Mind. As you grow in your Christian walk, you will learn from experience as well as your study of God’s Word “that the testing of your faith produces patience” (James 1:3). A better translation for patience is “patient endurance.” Patiently enduring trials while trusting in the Lord develops perseverance, and that has a lasting quality. Once you have experienced and endured affliction or testing, you will discover that your trust in the Lord not only remains, but also is all the stronger because of the testing.

Paul assured all believers that “no temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). The Lord will not allow any of His children to face any temptation that they cannot, in His power and provision, survive. Thus you can know for sure that you will never be called on to face any trial that the Lord has not prepared you to endure.

Paul gladly and without shame endured great suffering because, he said, “I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that day” (2 Timothy 1:12).

A Submissive Will. God promises no free passes in the Christian life, only that He will see His people through the trials without their suffering spiritual harm. But God will not be able to use those trials to accomplish what they need without our willing submissiveness. When you learn to rejoice in your trials and come to understand that your gracious heavenly Father uses them not to harm but to strengthen and perfect you, that’s when you can embrace them as beneficial.

James 1:4 says, “Let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” “Perfect” is better rendered “mature,” referring to spiritual maturity fulfilled in Christlikeness, which is the goal of endurance and perseverance. Paul beautifully expressed the concept of spiritual maturity when he described the Galatians as “my little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you” (Galatians 4:19).

“Complete” in James 1:4 carries the idea of being whole or entire. And when James added, “lacking nothing,” he emphasized that the result of trials is maturity and completeness, which do not lack any spiritual importance and value. Peter tells us the result of our willingness to submit under trials: “May the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you” (1 Peter 5:10).

A Believing and Wise Heart. James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” When you are going through any trial, you need a special measure of understanding to help you endure it. That should drive you to your knees to ask God to supply the wisdom you need. Strong, sound faith is not based on feelings but on knowledge and understanding of the promises of God’s truth, which is spiritual wisdom.

When you face any kind of trial—physical, emotional, moral, or spiritual—you need God’s wisdom to help you endure. Consider these words of Solomon: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil” (Proverbs 3:5–7). God, and God alone, is the source of wisdom.

Calling on the Lord for wisdom is not an option; it is a command: “let him ask” in James 1:5 is an imperative. If you are not driven to the Lord and do not develop a deeper prayer life as a result of a trial, the Lord is likely to keep you under the test and may even intensify it until you seek Him in prayer. For it is when you approach His throne of grace that you “may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

A Humble Spirit. James 1:9–11 says, “Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.” When God, in His wisdom and sovereignty, takes away physical possessions from some of His children, you can be sure it is for the purpose of making them spiritually mature, a blessing infinitely more valuable than anything they have lost. If God deprives you of something in this life, you can be sure it is temporary and insignificant when compared to your future divine inheritance.

The loss of material things is meant to drive us to the Lord and to greater spiritual maturity, blessing, and satisfaction. At that point, both rich and poor believers are alike. Neither material possessions, nor the lack of them, make any difference to your spiritual walk. What is important is a trusting relationship with the Lord, who showers all of His children with spiritual wealth that will never diminish or fail to satisfy.

YOUR REWARD

James ended his discussion of trials with this statement about the reward of persevering: “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him” (James 1:12). Perseverance results in God’s approval, and His approval brings about the “crown of life.” The term for “crown” comes from athletic competition. In James’s day a champion received a wreath, which was a symbol of perseverance necessary to win the prize. A more literal translation is “the crown which is life”—in this case, eternal life. So perseverance affirms God’s approval because it is evidence of eternal life.

Your perseverance as a Christian in the face of trials and disappointments doesn’t produce salvation and eternal life; it is the result and evidence of salvation and eternal life. The fact that you hold fast to the faith—no matter what—is proof you are one of God’s own people.

There’s a great early American hymn “How Firm a Foundation,” that imagines the Lord speaking to Christians and saying:

Dross is the useless waste removed by the refining process, leaving only pure gold behind. The fires of disappointment, despair, and trouble may be frightening at first, but they are signs of the work God is doing in your life, burning away the impurities of your spirit, preparing it for a joyous eternity in heaven.
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MacArthur, J. (2004). Welcome to the family : What to expect now that you’re a Christian (Page 99). Nashville, Tenn.: Nelson Books.