Giving Space to Our Trials
CAROLE HOLIDAY
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“Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:4 (NIV)
When Christians mention favorite Bible verses, I’m guessing James 1:4 doesn’t get many votes. I doubt it regularly appears on gift shop shelves where sweet spiritual promises find themselves emblazoned on mugs or tea towels.
In the more-often-recited neighboring verses, James advises welcoming trials:
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance” (James 1:2-3, NIV).
If I’m honest, I want to rush trials. But James 1:4 proposes just the opposite — giving trials time and space, allowing them to do their work: “Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
Ugh. You won’t find me dancing in delight as I read that message.
But James understood the difficulties and struggles of the early Christians to whom he originally wrote this scripture. The Church was reeling from persecution, and he addressed their response to those hardships.
The idea of inserting joy anywhere in the vicinity of tough times may have seemed exhausting. It exhausts me. Furthermore, the suggestion that I allow perseverance to wring out the best in me pushes me to the limit.
And the limit is right where God can meet me.
When I don’t think I can take any more hurt, God promises to transform pain into perseverance … the ability to endure. It’s endurance that teaches us good things take time.
Developing our character takes time.
Growing in our relationships takes time.
Understanding holiness takes time.
Healing from emotional injury takes time.
I remember sheepishly confessing to a kind friend how embarrassed I was that I didn’t seem able to “get over” my ex-husband. Others wondered aloud how I could want someone who didn’t want me.
Here I sat, tying all of my hopes and dreams to someone who had discarded me. I felt ashamed as a woman … and as a woman who proclaimed Jesus as Lord.
My friend leaned forward and softly said, “It takes a long time to heal a broken heart.”
I straightened a bit in my chair, realizing she was right.
This isn’t a period of unfruitful heartache. This is a period of perseverance maturing me on the inside. Completing my growth. Filling my empty cup with new purposes.
Sometimes we have to suspend earthly logic and rest in faith that God’s Word makes mysterious promises. Unseen, tiny wheels and gears turn in our deepest parts, unsticking our stuck places and stretching out space for the Spirit of God.
I can say I have endured trials I thought I could never endure. I have witnessed the maturity that follows that endurance. And I want to encourage you with these words, as I have met many women who say the same:
I guess James was right all those years ago.
That’s why you can say with assurance that no pain in your life will ever be wasted.
Lord, I hate trials, and I’d rather they never come. But when they do, help me allow them space and time to transform me like nothing else can. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
OUR FAVORITE THINGS
It can be so disillusioning to process things that are breaking our heart, especially when it seems like God is not intervening. In a recent conversation on the Therapy & Theology podcast, Lysa TerKeurst, Jim Cress and Dr. Joel Muddamalle help us begin to see that faith in God means being assured of His goodness even when what He allows doesn't feel good, seem good or look good right now. Watch on YouTube here!
Have you ever prayed, Wait a minute, Jesus — this isn’t how life was supposed to be? Carole Holiday understands how trials can upend our entire world, and in her book, I Don’t Know Who I Am Anymore, she shares her journey of grief, giving space to the pain to work out a redeemed ending. If you want help to rewrite your upside-down story, pick up her book here.
ENGAGE
Look for inspiration on Instagram @caroleholiday and caroleholiday.com.
FOR DEEPER STUDY
Romans 5:3-5, “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” (NIV).
John 16:33, “… In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (NIV).
Our trials may not look like those Christians faced in the first century, but there remain timeless universal themes of hardship: heartache, loss, loneliness, health challenges, scarcity of resources. What trials come to mind when you imagine Jesus speaking the message of John 16:33 and Romans 5:3-5 to you? How can you give space to your trials today? Share with us in the comments!
© 2025 by Carole Holiday. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 31 Ministries
P.O. Box 3189
Matthews, NC 28106
www.Proverbs31.org
Originally published Friday, 21 February 2025.
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