Faithful Paradox

Scripture is clear that the testing of faith will happen when we face trials (James 1:2-3). It comes as no surprise. I have found that the testing of my own faith has revealed a firm foundation rooted in God’s word. I have seen God’s faithfulness proven true. The trials have also been effective in exposing some wrongly held beliefs as well.

Trials in life can cause us to read and wrestle with Scripture in new ways. Recently, I have been reading through 1 Corinthians and several verses have caused me to pause. They have caused me to really stop and think, “have I believed this rightly?”

This morning I found myself in 1 Corinthians 10. Paul is warning the church at Corinth against idols. He tells the church, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Cor. 10:13). This verse is so clearly about temptations, yet I often hear people apply it to trials: “God will not give you more than you can handle.”

It’s easy to embrace the idea that God is one who allows trials in our lives, but he also provides a way out; that his care is seen in offering us relief from suffering. It’s comforting to think of a God who will not give us more than we can bear. It’s easy to believe in a God who knows my limits and will respect those limits. The issue with this perspective, however, is that at the center of the trial is my strength and my ability to endure. As I endure, I become the hero of my own story.

Looking deeper at Scripture, what we find is a very different message. In the midst of severe testing and trial, Paul tells the church at Corinth: “We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death” (2 Cor. 1:8-9). It is clear that Paul felt he was given far more than he could handle. He knew that he was unable to endure apart from God’s sustaining power.

Today, the cultural idea of victory in trials is that yes, of course we will face hardship, but we will come out stronger on the other side! This deception masquerades as an encouraging philosophy to behold. The issue is, however, that it’s drawn from a verse based on temptations, not trials. The issue is also that it simply doesn’t hold up.

Inherently, the question that arises in the midst of this false ideology is what about the times that we don’t come out on the other side stronger? What about the times that it looks like the trial wins? How do we reconcile sickness that doesn’t get better and in fact takes a life? What about chronic pain that doesn’t resolve, and in fact becomes more and more debilitating? How do we explain a womb that doesn’t open? What about when the anxiety and panic won’t cease or the depression won’t lift? Where is the victory in this? Where is the way of escape when the prognosis is terminal? What about the prodigal that doesn’t return? What do we do when hope of victory, or at least what feels like victory here on earth, is gone and we simply must settle in to accepting the lot in life that God has given?

It’s easy to believe in a God who always gives victory in the way we would define victory. It’s easy to believe in a God who brings healing, health and wealth. It’s easy to believe in a God who always provides an escape from every trial when the escape looks and feels good; when escape means relief from suffering. It’s easy to believe that God will not give me more than I can handle so if I’m walking through something really hard, it must be that I’m much stronger than I thought. Or, in the very least, he’s making me stronger through it.

The reality, however, is that I don’t think the trials we face are intended to showcase our strength or capacity. The trials we face are intended to showcase God’s power and strength. Regardless of what we endure, we can be sure that, “”neither death nor life nor angels nor rulers, nor things present not things to come, nor powers nor height nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:37-39).

Victory is not actually found only in overcoming trials. Victory is not about finding the way of escape or even in getting through the trial itself. The victory is actually that we have a God who loves us and we can never lose that love. The victory is that when the trials come, he will be faithful. Yes, God will help us endure whatever trial or temptation we are facing, but I don’t think his desire for endurance is simply to get through the trial. Rather, despite whatever trial may come, he will cause us to endure in faith. The victory is that he will keep our souls safe.

We are often given more than we can handle in order “to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead” (2 Cor. 1:9b). When we are given more than we can handle, it points our hearts to the reality that God holds us, keeps us, and helps us endure. The victory is not in overcoming what seemed insurmountable, but rather it’s that our God endured when all else fails. In the midst of complete brokenness, we learn that we actually cannot handle what God has given; but he can. The victory is that when we endure, we can proclaim the faithfulness of a God who held us. He is the hero of every story.

If I’m honest, the less sanctified part of me would rather God’s victory always looked like escaping the suffering rather than enduring whatever trial is in front of me. I’d rather set my limits and let God know what’s too much. I’d like to be able to wave the white flag and know I did my best. In all of this, however, the focus is on me. When I am given more than I can bear, when I cannot make sense of the suffering, when I feel that I have been given the sentence of death, it all serves to point my heart towards God. It all serves as a reminder that he is the one who will keep my soul safe. He is the one who will cause me to endure. He is the hero of every story and often, I think we are given more than we handle to remind us of this very fact.