By Caitlyn Parente

God surprised me this weekend as I read this verse for three reasons.

Trials are necessary.

In the thick of my disappointment, I did not want to hear that trials are necessary. But they are, and God needed me to hear this:

“Your trials are a very small part of a bigger and greater plan that you can’t comprehend or imagine. Trust Me on this. Though you are disappointed and still grieving, you have to continue to seek Me. Only I can fix your broken heart and rattled soul.”

Trials are testing the genuineness of my faith.

My faith is maybe not as strong as I thought it was. I can’t count the number of times that I have said something along the lines of “just have faith; God will work it all out” to others, but as soon as I was on the receiving end of that statement, I did not want to hear it. It was hard to be positive and bounce back when I felt let down and disappointed. I needed this verse to remind me that my faith is genuine when I choose to seek God in the midst of trials.

I should be rejoicing.

While I had been looking at everything through a lens of disappointment, I forgot about joy. I desperately needed to be reminded. In this you rejoice.

How beautiful it is to be able to rejoice in the middle of our trials! These temporary troubles are nothing compared to what is to come.

God is a good father, and He is never going to let us down. When I keep His Word as my anchor and I seek Him first, I am able to rejoice in every circumstance, because I know that He is good and He keeps His promises.
Disappointment is inevitable, but we don’t have to stay in a state of sorrow. We can rejoice in the comfort of knowing that our God always has our best in mind. Trials are necessary in order to strengthen our faith and dependence on the One who works all things together for our good.