Why Trials Exist -- Part 2

Recap

Part 1 of this series explained the God's work and glory is to bring to pass our immortality and eternal life. For us to receive eternal life requires that we are qualified. To be qualified, mean that we have surrendered our will to God, having put off the natural man.

To put off the natural man requires for us to be broken. Our will and desires must be broken so that we rely on the Lord. The Lord breaks us through fire -- challenges and trials. One trial of fire that all must go through is their baptism of fire. The baptism of fire is important because it purifies us so that we can receive the Holy Ghost. We don't fully receive the Holy Ghost until after we've been baptized by fire. Baptism of fire is a noticeable event. It involves the trial and an event where one's spirit has been changed. When one go through that process, one will receive the full Gift of the Holy Ghost.

We can know whether we've received the Gift of the Holy Ghost by its attendant signs.

Once you'v received the Holy Ghost the subsequent trials you'll experience are designed to build you faith, to purify you, and bestow you with wisdom.

This post focuses on those three things.

Faith 

If you know that you have received the gift of the Holy Ghost, then the trial you’re facing is to increase your faith in Christ so that you can overcome the world. Those who expect to live with God are those, who through their faith, have overcome the world.

But what does it mean to overcome the world? It simply means that your faith and trust in God is so great that nothing can remove your trust in Him. No matter how hard life is, you trust in God. And it makes sense that this is what is required. After all, God is looking for those who can rule in partnership with Him. In order to do so he needs to know that you are loyal and dependable. There is no better way to test that than by trials.

In speaking to the Saints, who were discouraged due to the trials and afflictions their experienced by the mob in Missouri, the Lord explains,

14 Therefore, be not afraid of your enemies, for I have decreed in my heart, saith the Lord, that I will prove you in all things, whether you will abide in my covenant, even unto death, that you may be found worthy.
15 For if ye will not abide in my covenant ye are not worthy of me.

Here, the Lord is clear. The Saints in Missouri are to not be afraid, because the Lord is using the mob to prove or test the saints in all things. And this testing is to prove whether they are worthy.

There is one Greek word often used in the New Testament to refer to trials. This word is dokimion and it refers to the testing of the purity and integrity of metals. Peter uses this word when he writes,

6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
7 That the trial (dokimion) of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

Thus, when applied to our circumstances. The trials we experience are designed to test our integrity to God. Will we, like Sadrach, Mischch, and Abednego remain faithful to our God even though we have to suffer for it? That’s what God wants to test.

Trials increase faith because they first cause us to make a choice whether, despite all the evidence telling us otherwise, we’ll trust in God. Second trials increase our faith, because if we remain faithful in the trial, we will see, eventually, that God is reliable and does answer our prayers. Seeing this, we then have greater confidence in him. And like the Psalmist, we can proclaim:

10 For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried.
11 Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins.
12 Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place. (Psalm 66).

What a blessing to echo this refrain! To, after wading through our affliction, confidently proclaim that despite losing it all, God has delivered us!

But to get to this point does not happen overnight. Instead, it is a process of faith building, of faithfully enduring each trial we experience. Most of us believe that because we are members of the LDS Church and have been baptized, that we have faith. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Faith, instead, is built, like everything else, line upon line. We press forward until eventually our faith is that of exceeding faith - faith so strong that nothing can deter us from God -- nothing!

Purifying

In addition to increasing our faith, trials seek to purify us so that we can have more of the spirit with us. As stated earlier, trials are meant to break us. This breaking is not a bug, but a feature of trials. No matter where we are spiritually, we should expect to be humbled more and more each and every time. The breaking of us allows for more of the Spirit to reside in us. While we may have received the gift of the Holy Ghost, and so the Holy Ghost is our constant companion, how much we can feel and sense of the Spirit is determined by our level of humility. Only after becoming humbled over and over again, can we feel more and more of the Spirit. This is what it means to be sanctified through the Spirit. We continue going through the refiners fire, with each and every time become more pure and receiving more of the Spirit. But we should not fear or hate these times. Instead we should rejoice. For it is in the darkest times where the Lord is the closet. Isaiah encapsulates this idea perfectly, when the Lord states,

For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. (Isaiah 57:15).

Each trial brings us lower and lower so that God can get closer and closer -- for he only dwells with those who are of a contrite heart. Notable, again, is that the Hebrew word translated as contrite, means to be crushed and destroyed. Therefore, God is with those who are crushed and destroyed. This concept of being broken so that God can be near ultimately leads to receiving of God’s fullness. To receive the fullness of God’s glory is to be able to receive the fullness of his Spirit. This can only come by constant breaking and reshaping, so that we conform more and more to the Son, and in turn receive more and more of the Spirit. Our goal, then, as disciples is to embrace the fire, because the fire purifies and corrects. And having this understanding, we can, like Paul, declare:

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:11-13)

Wisdom

But while trials serve the purpose of breaking us in order to receive more of God’s spirit and increasing our faith, they also serve another purpose--instruction. Doctrine and Covenants 88:6 sets the foundation. There, the Lord explains why he suffered all things. He states,

“He that ascended up on high, as also he descended below all things, in that he comprehended all things, that he might be in all and through all things, the light of truth;” (verse 6).

This verse is critical to understanding why trials occur. Here, Christ links being able to know and comprehend all things to having “descended below all things.” Thus experiencing challenges is connected to learning. This principle is further reinforced by Lehi, who, speaking to his sons, explain that there must be “opposition in all things” and that good and evil are intimately connected. To use a simple analogy, good and evil are one side of the coin. If good and evil are connected in this way it logically requires that in order for us to know the good, we have to experience the evil (the trials and suffering). But how does this work? One way is that by knowing the darkness (as trials bring darkness and pain) we can recognize the good (the light). We often know something better by comparing it to its opposite. But another way this works is that trials, because of their acute pain, put us in a position to ask questions. And particularly ask the questions God wants us to ask. When the trial happens, besides remaining humble and submitting, we should begin to ask God why. Yet these questions need not be polite, but they should be direct and with force. Sometimes we worry that speaking directly to God offends Him. Yet the scriptures show this not the case. First, our Lord and Savior was quite direct on the cross when he asked God why he had forsaken him. But to illustrate this principle further, let’s look at the story of Job. After Job loses everything, and after his friends try to help him, he begins to ask God questions as to why this is happening. The questions are quite direct and seem irrelevant. Yet God eventually responds to Job by answering his question. God responds to Job by giving him understanding through a marvelous vision. Job learns that God’s ways are too complex for man to understand. And that suffering is not simply because a person did bad things, but instead is done to forward God’s purpose. After the vision, the Lord finally responds,

7 ¶ And it was so, that after the Lord had spoken these words unto Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath. (Job 42)

And how does the Lord ultimately respond? He reprimands Job, right? No! He actually says that Job has spoken rightly of Him! God does not condemn Job for demanding an answer. Instead he approves of him. Up to this point Eliphaz has been blaming Job for his suffering, saying that he angered God. Yet, in the end God upholds Job and reprimands Eliphaz -- despite Eliphaz trying to defend God. This is something we can learn from. But besides knowing that we can be direct with God, we also have to realize that most of the time it will require complete humility. We demand to know, but we give our hearts to prayer. To understand what this means, let’s look at David’s way of praying. In describing his prayer he writes,

I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears. Mine eye is consumed because of grief; it waxeth old because of all mine enemies. (Psalm 6:6-7)

The English phrase “bed to swim” misses out on the Hebrew meaning. The literal meaning of the phrase means drenched and soaked. Moreover, the imagery evoked is that of David’s couch being dissolved by his tears. This is something for us to consider. Another example of what’s required in prayer is the Savior himself. Luke records, And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. Or consider Hannah, who prayed for a son stating that “I poured out my soul before the Lord.” There are many more examples of effective prayer in the scriptures. But as you can see, we can approach with boldness but we must be persistent and humble. If we do this, without ceasing, the Lord will respond.