We’ve been slowly walking through the Book of Psalms, and this week (Psalm 60) talks about 10 things God has done, 5 things David is requesting, and 10 different things God has spoken. But what stood out to me is how the passage conveys confidence in times of trials. That no matter what we go through, when we press into the Lord, we come through it stronger.

Over the course of my life, I’ve never known anyone to set out to go through trials or hardship. I’d say just the opposite, that we do everything in our power to avoid it. There’s no doubt that we’d rather settle into a place of normal, peaceful, no drama kind of lives. Right? However, we also know that it’s during these harder times we tend to grow the fastest.

Trials in life are normal and effective in motivating our spiritual growth…it matures us. When we are doing well, our hearts tend to become relaxed and self-reliant. During times of struggle, we run back to God quickly. Our prayer lives and devotional lives are revitalized, and our devotion to God is deepened because we see our need for Him.

In our passage, David is experiencing hardships and runs to God quickly (vs 1). The Israelites do the same thing. Whenever God allowed His people to stray and experience hard times, whenever He allows us to, they/we become motivated to seek His favor (vs 2-3). This is the very process James wrote about in James 1:2-4: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” We grow from our experiences.

Notice God allows things to happen, and that it’s what we do with it that matters. May we all run to God quickly. May our walk with God continually be revitalized and deepened, whether during good times or trials.