“For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing,” James 1:3-4 states. The testing of our faith is not something we necessarily want. It is usually not pretty and requires some brokenness to take place. However, as these verses state, testing is needed for growth for the Christian.
Just as a child grows every year, a Christian must grow in their faith. They must not stay where they began, but must grow everyday. The testing of faith is what brings about the most growth. When you are tested, you will give your endurance a chance to grow. This verse says that when your endurance is fully developed, your faith will be perfect and complete. Look at a child and how they develop vocabulary. As a young child, they know very little language, but as they have more experiences, they grow and learn. If once they were adults, they only stayed at a young vocabulary stage, they would not be able to do most of the things that adults do. The Christian life is the same way. If we do not allow our experiences to grow and change us, then we stay at the same faith we had when we first came to know Christ and never change.
Trials and tribulations are necessary for growth. It is in those times that we depend on the Lord and grow closer to Him. May the testing of your faith bring about growth in your faith and the joy to see you through.