Faith Through Trials

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. - James 1:2-4

Devotion:

Recently, I went through the biggest trial of my life. I was leaving a charity event and not a half mile after I started driving, I was hit in a head-on collision. This accident caused several fractures in my spine as well as muscle tears in my shoulder. In a matter of seconds, my life changed, and I was in a situation completely out of my hands. I would love to say there was an immediate peace over the situation and my faith was rock solid, but that would be a lie. I was facing many unknowns in the beginning: potential spine surgery, shoulder surgery, the doubt of a recovery, and so much more. I was thrown into a space of pain, isolation, anxiety, fear, doubt, and much more. But, as weird as it is to say, I'm so thankful for the experience now that I’m on this side of things.

I stand today relatively pain free, back into the flow of a regular daily life, and with a faith much stronger than before the accident. I would have never known how much my faith could hold until I had nothing else to hold onto. As I reflect, I think of how easy it is to express our trust in our faith in the midst of comfort, but through trials it is tested and proven.

As a former athlete, I have latched on to quotes from many athletes over the years. One that comes to mind is from Mike Tyson, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” I think that could easily be made to say everyone has faith until it's put to the test. Far too often we rely on what we say we will do, without any evidence of if we will.

When I began to battle depressive thoughts, doubts of healing, questioning God, or just faced lack of vision of an ending, it was there in my brokenness God met me—there God strengthened me to withstand the next day. It is so easy to take the emotions we feel and apply them to the character of God when we are in low places. Think back to when you walked through a difficult time. What lies did the enemy whisper to you? Maybe “The hurt would never end;” “You deserved it;” “God didn’t care;” etc. Our trials teach us that our emotions and feelings are ever changing. Good news, we are up; bad news, we are down.

God’s character is unchanging, and that is the truth we must hold onto in trials. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So, we must trust even when we can’t see; we must trust even when we can’t feel it. We must trust God’s plan is far greater than the blip of time we are experiencing. Hindsight is 20/20; I can see all the ways God was at work in my trial: protection during the accident, healing in the waiting, and growth that came from brokenness. These are all truths I now can stand firm on in my faith as they have been proven in my life and in so many others.

I wrote this devo not to boast of how great my faith was, quite the opposite. I wrote this to say God used a trial to grow my faith. God used this trial to allow me to experience him in such an intimate way. My encouragement is to build your faith. Know your faith will be tested, and embrace it. If anything, it will reveal where we don’t trust God, which gives us a baseline of where to work from. And when the trial ends, we see all he has done—which then gives us a moment to always reflect on and know that we can place our trust and faith in God because when we are faithless, he is still faithful.

PRAYER

Dear Lord,

Thank you for the sacrifice your Son made on the cross. Help us to grow in our faith and obedience. Help us keep our eyes fixed on you and your promises. Thank you, Lord, for your grace and mercy when we begin to doubt your presence and power. Help us lean into you in the face of trials, and lay everything down at your feet. Let the evidence of your guiding hand through our trials serve as a reminder to endure in this life. Allow us to share our testimony and faithfully grow your Kingdom.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen

Travon Smith
Young Adult Men’s Director

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