It's in our human nature to avoid pain and suffering. While this nature can be a functional and helpful one, considering it keeps us off busy streets and hot appliances, it can also be a crippling one when viewed in an unbalanced manner.
In John 16:33, Jesus gives us the deafening reality that so many of us face today: "In the world you will have tribulation" (ESV). The Christian life is not one that promises problem-free living until we meet our Maker or until Jesus comes back, whichever comes first. Because we continue to be a part of this broken world, today's believer will face the same or even greater trials than he or she ever did before coming to know Christ.
But the beauty of our God is His ability to turn even something as terrible as the brokenness of this world to turn into His gracious tools of self-development. It's not always that God sends His wrath down to you with certain problems because of some unconfessed sin (although that may the case in certain situations), but that as a loving Father; He gives us challenges and tests to improve our faith.
Genuine faith is not only built in times of abundance and prosperity. Yes, God uses both to train and develop us, but there are also some aspects to your faith that can only be developed in the furnace. James 1:2–4 tells us, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing" (ESV).
The interesting thing about diamonds is how they are made. Diamonds are actually pieces of fossilised coal that has spent thousands of years under pressure. Without the pressure, the coal remains nothing more than coal, but when pressure is applied to it, it transforms from an ordinary coal to a genuine and valuable diamond.
God is not in the business of keeping you as an ordinary coal. He wants to turn you into a diamond, but for that to happen, He must expose you to the challenges and trials of this world. Without the pressure, we remain the same as we were yesterday, but with the trials, we are made perfected and complete, lacking no good thing.
Chase after being a diamond, and know that as you face trials and challenges, Jesus will not allow you to become overcome by it, but will be with you, giving you the strength and perseverance to face any challenge that might come your way.
