I Thessalonians 3:3
“so that none of you would be shaken by these trials. For you know that we are destined for this”
One of the more memorable movie lines is when George McFly attempted to said to Lorraine, “You are my destiny”, (Back to the Future). This was very special and got her attention. Today’s passage shares the destiny of all christians, trials and afflictions. No romance in that.
The other day the focus was on trials under the title, Our Response to Difficulties. This is a deeper truth. It wouldn’t be a recruiting slogan, “Come to Christ and experience a new destiny, trials”. Paul addresses these deeper truths and describes them as for the mature in I Corinthians 3:2.
Does this mean that the unbeliever doesn’t have problems? No. Jesus says in Matthew 5:45, that God causes “the rain to fall on the just and the unjust.”
Trials for the christian have purpose. Just as the sculptor’s chisel afflicts the stone for a reason, so do trials to the christian. Romans 8:28 speaks of how God works all things for the good.
Why are trials our destiny? They mature us and draw us close to The Lord. He wants us to be the best we can be and He wants to be close to us. The former was addressed the other day. Trials force us in dependence upon God. We learn to not get upset by them, but to go and ask for His assistance. This is good for the relationship and also allows for His guidance and blessing.
His goal is for us to walk through life together with Him. Genesis 5:24 speaks of how Enoch walked with God. Trials force us closer and with greater dependence. For this we should see trials as favorable. This is why we should rejoice in our tribulations (Romans 5:3).
It takes faith to see trials in this fashion. Hebrews 11: 6 says, ” And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”
Lord, thanks that our difficulties have the purposes of making us better and drawing us close to You.