It isn’t uncommon to think God betrays us when life gets hard. However, those taught by the Word know that hardships are gifts from God for our maturation (James 1:2-3), opportunities to share in Christ’s suffering and grow closer to him (1 Peter 4:12-19), and means of making us more like Jesus (Romans 8:28-29). Suffering is God’s sandpaper used to smooth-out and complete his people; he uses it to hurt us toward growth in goodness. As Watson said, “the worst thing God will ever do to his children is whip them to heaven.”

Another thought about suffering recently came to me: suffering is God honoring us with the chance to demonstrate the wisdom of his Word and the worth of His Name.

We Learn to Practice

The purpose of learning anything is to practice it, grow skilled in it, and have victory through it. Those who’ve learned something see challenges or difficulties as opportunities to practice their principles and test their mettle. They want the challenge!

Epictetus explains:

“When troubles arise, we will know that it’s time to exhibit what we’ve learned.

A student fresh out of school who gets into difficulty is like someone practiced in the solving of syllogisms; if anyone gives him an easy one, he says, ‘Give me a knotty one instead, I want a bit of practice.’ In the same way, athletes don’t like to be paired with pushovers. “He can’t lift me,’ one says, ‘this other guy is better built.’ No, when the crisis comes, we groan and say, I wanted to keep on learning.’ Keep learning what? If you didn’t learn these things in order to demonstrate them in practice, what did you learn them for?“

I suppose there might be some who are sitting here losing patience and thinking, ‘Why don’t I get to face the kind of do challenge he did? I am growing old in a corner, when I could be winning a crown at Olympia! When will I be nominated for a similar trial?

That is the attitude that all of you should adopt. There are gladiators at Rome who get frustrated if they are not called out and matched with an opponent, all the while begging God and their own supervisors to be allowed to do battle one-on-one. None of you here shows anything like the same mettle. Which is why I would like to escape to Rome to see my favorite wrestler in action, how he, at least, puts policy into practice.” (Discourses & Selected Writings, p. 71-72)

For Epictetus, trials are a beautiful opportunity to practice what we’ve learned; to publicize our progress and prowess. Athletes, musicians, and actors who’ve trained hard in their craft are eager, not ungrateful, for the chance to display what they’ve got. Those trained in wisdom and truth ought feel the same.

How Much More Can Christians Adopt This?

Now, Epictetus was a pagan philosopher, but he points out something that Christians have even more reason to believe: in the care of our Good and Sovereign God, our trials are not random, accidental, or necessary evils, but opportunities He gives us to prove to ourselves and the watching world the wisdom of his word and the worth of his Name. Far from cowering from trials, we’ve reason to be eager for such a chance and consider it an honor when he gives it to us.

I think we see this posture when in how the Apostles responded to the hardships God sent their way. For example, after faithfully following and proclaiming Jesus, the Apostles were arrested by Pharisees and Sadducees, interrogated, insulted, and falsely accused of crimes against God. Afterward,

“When (religious leaders) had called in the Apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then (the Apostles) left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.” Acts 4:40-41

Far from complaining, cowering, or cursing God for their sufferings, they rejoiced God counted them worthy to suffer dishonor for His Name. They were musicians who considered themselves blessed to play the King’s song in the theater of fire. Artists commissioned to use all their knowledge and skill to paint the glory of their King. They were wrestlers grateful to be given the chance to show the worth of their Savior and the sufficiency of His grace in the arena of suffering. Coach put them in and they were ecstatic for the difficult match up.

Far from complaining about difficult trials, those schooled in God’s Word and world, will be able to think, “This is what I have been studying for. God has revealed His Word to me so that I may show and sense His goodness in this hardship. I am not betrayed by this difficulty, but honored.” As James said, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds” (James 1:2). God honors his best saints with hardship.

Now, if you are currently in a trial or tragedy, these words feel like boulders on your back when you’re struggling to not drown. Feel free to ignore this for now and go find a friend to cry with and be supported by. Suffering isn’t the time to learn what you don’t know, but lean on the Rock you do know. However, if you’re presently able to consider the words above, now is the time to chew and digest them so you’re better prepared for the trial you may be in or the trials that will inevitably come. To quote Epictetus again, “That is the attitude that all of you should adopt.”