It is easy to speak about faith when you are standing on the mountain top. Who doesn’t have a leap in their step when everything is going their way? It is natural to feel confident when the bank account is full, the family is healthy, and the path ahead looks perfectly clear.
But true trust and faith are never built on the mountain top. They are not forged during your best days.
The profound truth of scripture is that faith is built in the valleys, in the trials, and in the moments where we are forced to decide if we actually believe what God has spoken. When we look at Ephesians 3:20, we encounter a promise that challenges the very limits of our human imagination: “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.”
The New Living Translation takes it a step further, stating that He is able to do “infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes.”
If God is capable of the infinite, why do we so often find ourselves stuck in anxiety? The answer lies in where we expect our faith to grow.
The Heroes of Faith Met God in the Hard Places
When we look back at the historical narrative of scripture, every major exploit of faith was birthed out of difficulty. True strength was never realized in times of ease. It was always revealed in the middle of a battle.
- Abraham and Isaac: Abraham’s faith did not mature during a peaceful afternoon. It started early in the morning when he made up his mind that he was going to obey the voice of God, even if it meant giving up the very thing he loved the most.
- Moses and Aaron: A Red Sea would have never been crossed on dry land if they had given up after the first few trials. If they had thrown in the towel after five plagues, they would have missed the ultimate demonstration of God’s deliverance.
- David vs. Goliath: David would have never defeated the giant if he had stayed in the background. He stepped onto the battlefield when everyone else was trembling, fueled by a simple conviction: “Is there not a cause?”
- Joseph: His character wasn’t built in a palace. It was tested and proven in the famine, in the drought, in the prisons, and in the lonely pits of betrayal.
It was precisely when these individuals trusted God in the darkest moments that their faith became the strongest. Notice the distinction: it wasn’t easy, but it was strong.
Choosing Strength When Life Gets Heavy
Things being easy or hard is rarely a choice available to us. We cannot control the global economy, sudden health trials, or the unexpected storms of life. But choosing to be strong in the face of adversity is a choice we all can make.
In fact, it is in our hardest days that our faith and trust are tested. The point of each trial or difficult day is not for us to fail. God does not allow testing to destroy you; He allows it to make you stronger for today and prepared for future trials.
Jesus was incredibly transparent about this reality. He promised us that in this life we will have tribulations. There is no escape from the friction of a broken world. But He didn’t stop there. He also promised that He has already overcome this world.
The Divine Progression of Character:
The Apostle Paul understood this mindset deeply. Writing to the church at Rome, he laid out a clear roadmap for how difficult seasons transform us into unshakeable believers, showing that trials are actually a pathway to hope:
“Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” (Romans 5:1-5)
Paul explains that we can actually rejoice when we run into problems and trials. Why? Because there is a divine chain reaction that occurs when we suffer well. Tribulation produces patience. That patience builds experience and proven character. Finally, that character strengthens our confident, unshakeable hope of salvation.
This hope will never lead to disappointment. We can hold our ground because we know how dearly God loves us, having given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.
Counting it All Joy
To reinforce this exact truth, the Apostle James challenges our perspective on how we view sudden hardships. He urges us to change our immediate emotional response when trouble hits our doorstep:
“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” (James 1:2-4)
James isn’t telling us to pretend that pain feels good. He is telling us to look past the immediate discomfort of the trial and focus on the finished product. The trying of your faith produces a supernatural endurance. When you let that endurance finish its work, it matures you. It leaves you spiritually complete, well-developed, and lacking nothing.
Move Beyond the Surface
Don’t let a difficult Tuesday dictate the boundaries of your faith. The trials you are facing right now are simply the training ground for the “exceedingly and abundantly” that God wants to do in your life.
Choose to stand firm. Choose to trust. Your current battle is not the end of your story; it is the exact place where your character is being strengthened for the victories ahead.
