“It is in quiet solitude that we catch the deep and mysterious truths that flow from the soul of the things God allows to enter our lives.”
(Streams in the Desert, October 26th)

I don’t think it would take much for me to convince you that a significant percentage of my time week in and week out involves speaking, praying, counseling and crying with those in pain. There is literally not a day that goes by when I don’t have the opportunity to interact with someone who is experiencing trials and suffering of one form or another. Now please don’t misunderstand me on this. I am not complaining at all. I take my responsibility to minister to those who are suffering very seriously. I pray daily for the wisdom to bring God’s comfort and grace to each situation.

Nonetheless, I have learned some things from the experience of being close to those who are suffering. It has afforded me the opportunity to make some personal observations that I trust will be beneficial to me when my time of trial comes, as it surely will one day. Here are a few of the things I’ve learned.

First, God is in the details. No matter how intense the trials and suffering, the amount of grief encountered, fear engendered, or uncertainty, God is in the details. We may not clearly see his hand at the outset, but by faith we can trust that he is the controlling force sovereignly at work in the midst of our trials. God knows how to lead us to the point of crisis, and he knows how to lead us through it as well. It is as Jacob said: “Surely God is in this place, and I did not know it.”

Second, God’s promises and his providence do not lift us from the world of common sense and everyday trials. It is through these very things that our character is built and our faith is perfected. Growth in character takes place not through an easy life but through trials and suffering. As one author stated, “Suffering is a wonderful fertilizer for the roots of character.”  By God’s grace, each of us, as a result of our suffering, will come to the place of knowing that God’s most exquisite work in our hearts was done during the darkest of our days.

Finally, God usually steps forward to save us when we least expect it, and often in a most unexpected manner. Thus, the very time (the most important time) for faith to work is when our sight begins to fail.

Now if I were to put all of that together, I would state it in this manner. In the midst of the dark hours that suffering and trials bring, our task is to wait in prayer; wait in patience and wait in faith. Such a response on our part acknowledges God as sovereign over our circumstances; and further, it serves to deepen our humility, thereby giving us the opportunity to bring the ministry of joy to other fellow sufferers. In Peter’s words, “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while you have been grieved by various trials…”