Hardships Turn Out to Be Special Blessings From God

By Li Zhi

In the cold month, north wind brings bone-aching chill, and a heavy fall of snow covers the ground—pines and cypresses are standing on the hillside facing the cold wind, still green and tall. Despite the wind and frost, and rapid climate change, they are always proud and extraordinary, continuing unabated in front of cold waves.

The harsh environment seems to be very unfavorable to the pine and cypress, but their tenacious lives are actually built through terrible situations. So what is God’s will when He allows us believers to suffer hardships? How should we experience them and gain knowledge? While seeking these issues, I think of Job.

It is recorded in the Book of Job: When Satan made the accusation against Job for the first time, Jehovah God said to it, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only on himself put not forth your hand” (Job 1:12), and the second time, God said, “Behold, he is in your hand; but save his life” (Job 2:6). Scriptures show us that God allowed Satan to tempt Job, but He didn’t allow it to take Job’s life. Afterward, a series of events happened to Job: He was robbed of his great wealth, his children were taken away from him, and he was covered with horrible boils. In a short time, he became poor and left with nothing, from the richest man in the East. Moreover, his wife and friends attacked him and judged him. Such torment and refinement didn’t make him utter a sentence to complain to God. Instead, he fell down before God, saying, “Jehovah gave, and Jehovah has taken away; blessed be the name of Jehovah” (Job 1:21), “shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10). He maintained his faith in God and stood testimony to Him. The trials allowed him to personally experience God’s wondrous deeds, so his faith was elevated. Just as Job said, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear: but now my eye sees You” (Job 42:5). This was his greatest gain from the trials.

Thus, God’s intention of allowing Satan to tempt Job was all revealed to us. It makes us see Satan’s ignobility and evil: It subjected true believers in God to feverish and remorseless abuse, and it didn’t want people to worship God, so it harmed people to make them deny and betray God. On the other hand, God gave Job an opportunity to show his righteousness to worldly people, to Satan, and to all followers of God, making us see that true believers are able to withstand God’s test and always adhere to the way of fearing God and shunning evil, never complain or betray God despite the situations. What’s more, Job’s fear of God and his knowledge of God descended to the next level due to the trials, and his faith was strengthened, and Satan dared not tempt him from then on. Job could live entirely free and unrestrained in God’s presence. Later, God’s blessings were doubled upon Job: God gave him twice as much as he had before, more beautiful children, and doubled his life expectancy.

Abraham offering up Isaac was another famous Bible story. God was telling Abraham to give his only son Isaac, whom he gained when he was 100 years old, as a burnt offering, and this was God’s trial to Abraham. Abraham was in tremendous suffering, but he didn’t give excuses or complain to God. Instead, he acted according to God’s requirements. When he passed God’s test, God blessed Abraham, and made his progeny as numerous as the stars of heaven and as plentiful as the sand on the sea shore. Let’s talk about Moses. Before he departed from Egypt, Moses was hot-blooded, so he underwent forty years of trials in the wilderness. In the harsh environment with no inhabitants, he suffered a lot, but he made it by relying on his true faith in God, and meanwhile, his hot-bloodedness and enthusiasm were tempered, and he became mature and humble, and achieved true obedience to God. This allowed him to accept God’s commission and successfully lead the Israelites out of Egypt.

From the experiences of the saints, we can see that although our flesh suffers in hardships, it is beneficial to our life growth, helping us produce true faith in God, achieve true obedience and love, and gain knowledge of God’s actions. What will be fulfilled are eventually God’s blessings for us.

It is said in Proverbs, “The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD tries the hearts” (Proverb 17:3). God arranges various environments to test us, and His purpose is to temper our faith and obedience and make us closer to Him. Only people who undergo trials can gain more knowledge of God, and only such people have firm and pure love and obedience to God. Being refined by suffering is the only way for us to experience God’s work and grow in life.

The Bible says, “Blessed is the man that endures temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to them that love him” (James 1:12). “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire, might be found to praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:7). Clearly, suffering and trials are the special blessings God gives us, and it is the way for those who truly believe in and love God to gain life.

No matter what terrible things we encounter in our life, such as diseases, disasters, these are great tests for us. What we should do is to accept them from God, seek God’s intentions, gradually experience and appreciate them. By doing so, our faith, love and obedience to God can be increased, our relationship with God can become closer, and our hearts that follow God will stand firm and unwavering. Just like the pines and cypresses. Even if the cold wind whistles and the land freezes, they are still vibrant, standing strong on the cliffs …