Thank god for trials?
I am literally taken aback anytime I read the above scripture. I know how it feels like to go through such uncomfortable experiences as trials. Every human being does.
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Failing an exam is no such experience you would wish for even your worst enemy. Being jilted by a loved one is nothing to be joyful about, trust me.
I should count it joy when I go through such trials? Like seriously? Count it all joy? Come on. What is joyful about such an experience? What can be more daunting than trials? What is there to be thankful for when going through such hardships!?
You mean I should count it joy when my bank account is in the red? Are you real? You really expect me to be excited when, as a university student, my GPA (grade point average) is drowning and needs emergency resuscitation? Come on.
Interesting enough, time has proved the above scripture not only a fact but the truth. Trials should be enjoyed. They are a pack of lessons wrapped in an unwholesome experience!
I have somewhat come to discover this, especially as we celebrate Christ’s death; Easter. Truth is, there’s joy in hard times. Trials are fashioned to make us better… not bitter. Tribulations are meant to make us stronger… not weaker.
Our trials are specifically crafted for us to get going in life; to get us stronger. A child needs to stumble (or even fall) to learn to walk. Trials, like air, are a need. We need them to grow. We need them to mature. We need them to have an experience today to help encourage another who would face such tomorrow!
Jesus is being celebrated today because of his trials on the cross. Though uncomfortable then, those same trials gave us salvation today. Trials are never comfortable. However, they are intended for a better tomorrow. Thank God for Easter!
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Kindly lend me a minute of your time. Let me be your Biology teacher, like I was back in St. Roses SHS, Akwatia, for once. Let’s talk about the life cycle of an insect called butterfly.
The butterfly has four stages of growth: egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa and adult stage. The larva hatches out of the egg. The larva further grows to be the pupa. Out of the pupa emerges the beautiful butterfly we admire.
After its existence for a while, the caterpillar NEEDS to go through the pupal stage to be an adult butterfly. In other words, no pupa, no adult. Fortunately or unfortunately, the pupal stage is the ‘trial’ stage. It is an uncomfortable experience in the butterfly’s life cycle.
At the pupal stage, there’s no mobility whatsoever. It doesn’t even feed. This is one hell of a stage for the butterfly.
Guess what. As the pupa goes through this almost unbearable stage, deep inside, a new butterfly is forming. New tissues are formed. New organs are formed, too. New structures are developed. Every structure an adult butterfly would need is formed at this stage.
After a couple of days, a new adult butterfly with fresh, beautifully spotted wings emerge from the pupa! The comfortable butterfly you see, thus, just came from an uncomfortable pupa. Yes it did.
Life is nature. Just like the pupal stage is a need for the butterfly, our trials are a need for us. We all must go through our ‘pupal’ stage to grow. Little wonder the Holy Scriptures reminds us to be joyful about them. Our trials are for our own good, otherwise speaking. They are a need for us to be better tomorrow.
Our trials are fashioned to birth within us a resilient character; a new attitude; a new approach to life. The pupal stage is not any attractive. The adult butterfly, however, is. Your trials will definitely not be an attractive one. The outcome, however, is.
I know one is wondering by now, “What good an outcome will there be when my pocket is empty?”
Trust me, that empty pocket will teach you the plight of others who beg on the street. It will make you know how it feels like to have no money.
That empty pocket will birth within you an attitude of compassion and even gratitude to God. It will further teach you how to spend well.
“What is there to be thankful about for being jilted?” another may ask. Being jilted by a loved one has many lessons to teach you. It should teach you self-esteem and self-love. You always need to love yourself first. No one does you a favour by loving you if you are already in love with yourself. And… that’s some good self-esteem!
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We never seem to learn from our trials. Besides, we are too occupied with complaints to even learn. Every trial comes with its own lessons. It depends on which side of the coin you are looking at. Your trials are meant to make you learn… not burn!
There’s a lot to be thankful for; a lot of trials to be excited about. Reflect on all your trials this Easter season. Have you learnt well enough from them?
Reflect on the helpless goat which will pay for sins it didn’t commit this Easter. However, reflect on the lessons from your trials, too.
Thank God for your trials! If for nothing at all, He taught you many lessons through them which you never paid for. Count all your trials joy.
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Spend your Easter as a time for reflection… not some revelry or orgy. After all it’s the death of Christ… not some hooligan!
I wish you a happy Easter. Stay safe.