When we go through hard times it can be easy to doubt God and lose our faith. But we should try and strengthen our faith, because faith honours God and God honours faith. Challenging times can actually be used to strengthen our faith rather than cause us to lose it. When Job lost his health, his wealth, and his children, the Bible says he ‘fell to the ground and worshipped’ (Job 1:20 NKJV). Job didn’t worship God because of his circumstances, but in spite of them. He did two important things: 1) He looked up. Job recognised God’s sovereign right to decide all things. He trusted God’s loving character and believed He’d ultimately do what was best for him. And we must do that too. 2) He listened for a word. He realised this testing time was also a teaching time, so he declared, ‘He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold’ (Job 23:10 NKJV). Like gold being processed by the refiner, Job trusted God to bring out the best in him. And this isn’t easy. We want to cling to the familiar and return to the safety of the past, even though we know it’s not what God wants for us. We often want the hard times to end rather than think we’re going to learn something from them. The fears, surprises, and problems that lie ahead can make us afraid and discouraged. But we need to position ourselves in faith. The Bible tells us to ‘stand still and see the [deliverance] of the Lord, who is with you.’ Whatever we’re going through right now, we can know that God’s with us.

What Now?

If you’re going through a tough time, ask God to use it to bring the best out of you and to teach you something.