Transforming Hurt into Hope

By Dave Spruell

It’s that time of year again—when resolute Americans flood the gyms to work on shedding pounds or getting beach body ready. It’s a crazy phenomenon our country has embraced, but I do love a good resolution. Taking care of ourselves physically is important, and the New Year is a great time to set some new goals. But what about our emotional and spiritual health?

For many of us, this past year was a challenging year, and we experienced hurt that we are carrying into the New Year. Maybe it was the loss of a loved one or some difficult life circumstances. In those moments, we may feel like God is distant in our life. Unanswered prayers and dark days can bring us to a place of despair and questioning Him. Life can feel unbearable in the middle of the weight of adversity. But I would like to offer up a hopeful perspective for the New Year: Maybe now God is working more than ever in your life.

The Bible tells us to “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds…” (James 1:2) I used to believe this verse meant that I must force myself into a joyful attitude when I suffer. If Jesus was the Suffering Servant, I should push myself into an attitude of joy. But I have since changed my mindset toward suffering—not out of willpower, but out of a new perspective and a new hope.

This new perspective came from watching all these people filling the local gyms. They show up with ambitions of losing weight or toning their body; and if you are going to set this kind of goal, you have to put in the work. We all know the motto, “No pain, no gain.” So I began to think about my emotional and spiritual life. If I want to grow and get healthy, I need to put in the work.

The Bible tells us to consider it pure joy when we face trials, but why? “…because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:3-4) If God puts you in a trial or through some suffering, you must stand up in the middle of that pain and endure.

Weightlifters know they have to stress a muscle to the limit to allow it to grow stronger. If you’re going to grow your muscles, you need to have some resistance. You need some opposition that is painful and challenging. But as you endure that opposition, your muscle is strengthened.

Our faith is like that. The more you stress it to the limit, the stronger it gets. As you stand up in the middle of trials, you build your ability to handle things. But even more, you build your sturdiness in God. You see He’s trustworthy. You see that He keeps His promises. Suffering builds our trust muscles.

Things don’t usually grow on the mountaintop, but growth happens most often in the valley. When we see God’s faithfulness in difficult times, we trust that God is capable and our faith grows. And as it grows, it builds our confidence in what God says about our future. And that’s where our hope comes in. Hope is faith in the future.

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1) As God builds our faith through suffering, He increases our hope. And when you carry a lot of hope, you carry a lot of joy. So much so, that you can give some of it away. Therefore, make this a year when you carry hope and joy to others.

So, why do you consider it pure joy when you face trials of many kinds? Because it means God is working on you. He’s growing you. He’s building your faith. Though trials and suffering might make it feel like God has pulled away, quite the opposite is true. He’s working more than ever in your life. I would never wish suffering on anyone, but I am grateful for a God who transforms our hurt into a great hope for the future.