If you are a believer of Christ, at some point in your life you will face a trial. God says many times in the bible that you will have something put in your life that you will have to overcome. Some of these things are from the circumstances around us, some from our own sin, and somethings happen simply because God allows it to. As I read more in scripture and even looking at the lives of people today, a lot of their stories are similar. We’ve seen many people make a comeback and overcome a specific event or events in their life and be looked at as a success. So my question is, is failure really the opposite of success or is failure just a stepping stone to get to success?
A trial is a divinely ordained difficulty that God causes or permits so that He may grow us and conform us to be into the image of Christ. The purpose of the trial is like a makeover. It is to completely change our view of God in a positive way. God wants to develop us spiritually and he does that by testing our faith because that builds endurance.
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. - James 1:2-4
I have faced many trials in my life and I feel if I would have prepared myself with these teachings, the outcome would have been a lot faster and smoother along the way. One thing that I can say about my success is failure has definitely been a big part of it. From failing on the court and having to fight back from injuries, from failing in relationships and having to shift my view on what’s important, to even failing on being a good friend and family member and not being selfish has led to many life changing details in my life.
One of my favorite comeback stories of all time is Derrick Rose returning back to the NBA after three knee surgeries. After losing athleticism, being doubted and overlooked, he comes back to the league and plays at arguably an all star level. He had to overcome many different trials he was facing. Dealing with the surgeries and focusing on his health, being traded from NBA team to NBA team, moving his family from city to city, and the pressure of being a high profile athlete that was in the media for not being as successful as he once was. I don’t think anyone would call his career a failure at this point, but many would say because of his injuries he did not live up to the success many thought he would have. Because Rose never gave up, worked hard doing everything he could do, and leaving the rest in God’s hands, he received his comeback. We too can overcome and receive our comeback if we take the Derrick Rose approach and take it one step at a time letting God lead us through our trial.
Now that we know that there will be trials in our life, now it’s time to talk about how we are supposed to approach and look at them. I am a very organized planner, precise, “my way” type of person. I am very critical of the things I work hard at. It’s safe to say that for a long time, I was a believer in, “if it’s not successful, then it failed.” My playing career as an example, my high school basketball team did not get very many team wins like we projected. We had a number of committed college athletes on the team, with a lot of talent. However, we did not make it out of our sectional in four years. I had individual success while I was there, but for a long time I looked at my high school career as a failure. What I didn’t realize was how this would alter how I approached which college team I chose to play for and pretty much how I lived the rest of my life. I wanted to win, not individually but collectively as a whole.
In a trial, God says we must first pray. We should ask God for wisdom on how to handle our trials head on. Then, we must go to scripture and find what God says about your specific problem to understand deeper. Then lastly, we should ask God for help from spiritually minded people who can teach us how to best apply biblical truth to our problem. Most importantly, we must go to God in faith and not doubt.
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.- James 1:5-8
God has a funny way of turning things around on us. I now put winning on a bigger level on and off the court more than I ever have before because of some events that happened in my past. Even as I go through various trials today, with my current playing career, relationship status and even future plans, I have learned to put God’s teaching first and to be joyful during the trials because I know at the end I will be more like Christ.
If you’re in a trial, or just want to learn more, I encourage you to read through the James chapter 1 to start. Learn the reasons behind trials, how to face them the right way and also how to overcome and receive your comeback!
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