The Purpose of Trials in the Christian Life


We can use Deuteronomy 8 as an illustration which reveals God's reason for the trials in the wilderness, rather than just bring them to the land of promise. Well the ONLY thing that was removed from the Old Testament was the ceremonial laws but NEVER the moral laws. As said, 1 Corinthians 10:13 says that God is faithful as not to try the Christian beyond which they are not able because He is able!

Here are the purposes:

I. To humble and to prove, to know what's inside the hearts of people to see the genuine faith (Deuteronomy 8:2)

Trials keep a person humble. It was in the wilderness that humility happens. It is through harsh circumstances that the dross is removed. For example, Job was revealed to have a hidden attitude of self-righteousness when his trials. It was through the harsh desert that Moses learned the power of God and that it was God, not him who ultimately did the rest. They did their best for God, God did the rest for them as said, "Do your best by God's grace and He will do the rest". Trials bring a Christian closer to God. It's during the times of difficulty when a Christian is at most, closest to God. An example of being humbled was Peter. Peter thought he would never deny Jesus but he did anyway. It was through the trials and pressures Peter saw how weak he was and how much he needed Jesus in his responsibility of being the first pastor. It is also through trials that the real Christians are separated from the fake Christians who left and proved they were NOT saved to start with (1 John 2:19).

II. To teach that man does not live by bread alone but by God's Word (Deuteronomy 8:3-10)

The situation of having no water and no food in the desert would prove God's ability to provide for the Christians. Matthew 6:33 says, "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you." The illustration can be seen in the desert. For example, in Exodus 15:23-25 the situation of having no sweet water was solved as God's power was demonstrated when the bitter waters became sweet as Moses did God's command to immerse the tree branches into the water. Exodus 16-17 also shows the situation of when there was no water, God provided water and when there was no food, He provided the perfect food that did no harm- it was manna. Sadly many of them were ungrateful for manna. Perhaps a good example would be from the sermon of Pastor Estus Pirkle entitled "Look Up" in which he demonstrated how God uses troubles to put it up to neck level, that a Christian will look up. 

III. So Christians do not take God's blessings for granted (Deuteronomy 8:11-18)

If there are no trials- it's VERY EASY to forget God and focus too much on the blessings in life rather than He who gave them. Today a Christian's conveniences can become their hazards. For example, many Christians can be stuck up playing computer games (especially violent ones) and what's worse is that Facebook games use real time and rob the real time of the Christians as well as spending time with too much television- no wonder some Christian websites even encourage their viewers to throw it out. Well this does not mean Christians should shut down their Facebook BUT most online games today are stealing their devotion. When that happens, God has His own solutions. How? Well what else but through persecution! Like the serpents and scorpions in the desert, these persecutions will really get people to get down to spend time with God and teach them that worship of Him should be their first priority. And with these, one can understand more of what Jesus had to go through to make salvation so rich and free, and that Christian life is not limited to a salvation that cannot be lost but also, the command of perfection as a result of being the new man in Christ (Romans 7:1, James 1:4).