Can’t see the good in your current trials? Try this.
We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. (Romans 5:3-4)
A jumbled flurry of musical scales filled the front room of Ole Kirk Christiansen’s home. The LEGO founder’s son, Godtfred, was playing the family organ when he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see his father staring into space, the usual gleam in his eyes veiled by shock.
Godtfred’s hands fell from the keys, the sudden silence somehow louder than the chaotic chords from moments before. Christiansen sat down, took a deep breath, and tried to do the impossible: explain to his son what he didn’t understand and console with a comfort he didn’t feel. His wife and nearly-born daughter were dead.
This was easily the most brutal trial of Ole Kirk Christiansen’s life, but it wasn’t the only one. The entrepreneur watched his LEGO factory go up in flames three times, he was constantly saddled with debt, and his home was commandeered by Nazis.
In short, Christiansen was a modern-day Job. And while he didn’t instantly “glory in his sufferings,” over time he came to join his biblical counterpart in saying, “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21).
Christiansen’s story points us to this truth: We glorify God when we accept suffering as a gift. Not the kind we’d ask for on Christmas like a new car or a trip to Hawaii, but more like socks: unrequested, yet given for our good.
So let me ask you, how are you suffering at work today? Are you overwhelmed because you’re being asked to do the jobs of three people? Are you feeling pulled to your email inbox even “after hours”? Are you crippled with debt like Ole Kirk Christiansen?
Whatever it is, let me encourage you to do three things in response to Romans 5:3-4.
#1: Thank God for thorns and thistles that cause suffering in your work. Lament them, yes, (see Psalm 34:17) but also consider them joy (see James 1:2-3). Why? Because suffering drives you to your knees and into God’s presence, which is what you and I need most.
#2: Journal about how God has used your past trials for good. Hindsight is 20/20. It is much easier to see how God has used a trial from ten years ago for good than it is to see how he might use your current trials for good.
#3: Memorize Scripture to cultivate faith that God will use your current trials for good. Romans 8:28-29, Genesis 50:20, and Romans 5:3-4 are great places to start. May the truths of those Scriptures remind you that, in the words of Joni Eareckson Tada, “God permits what he hates to accomplish what he loves.”
P.S. The LEGO story might have ended before it began were it not for Christiansen’s second wife. While he surely would have chosen his first wife’s life over any success, his story is a powerful reminder of how God can use even tragedy for good. You can read the full story in my binge-worthy biography of Christiansen in Five Mere Christians.
