“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4 (NIV)

During our lowest moments, during times of struggle and trial, it can be hard to imagine life ever going back to normal. Let alone, one day looking back on this time and being grateful for the experience. In truth, your life will never return to normal, or at least not like it was before. We are forever changed by the trials we face; we become stronger, wiser, and more resilient. I know that changing our perspective, and being grateful for our trials can be difficult. But instead of feeling like they are taking something away from us, we could instead acknowledge that our trials offer us the opportunity to grow as individuals. This ideal is reflected in nature; without the rain, there wouldn’t be any flowers. 

It can be comforting, uplifting, and even strengthening to remember that God is shaping us through our trials. When bad things happen to us we are forced to grow and change in order to persevere. 

We can fall into a dangerous place if we can’t see ourselves making it through our trails. The Bible tells as we won’t experience trials beyond what we can handle. 

“...God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear...” 1 Corinthians 10:13. (NIV)

God has faith in us, so why shouldn’t we have faith in ourselves?

We will all face trails in our life. If we have faith in ourselves and persevere through, remembering that each struggle is an opportunity to learn and grow, we will always come out stronger on the other side. Only then can we really acknowledge our trials as a blessing. 

Next time you feel like you might be going through a trial, instead of asking yourself “why is this happening to me?”, try asking “what is this teaching me?”