“Trust Christ as your Saviour and you will be happy ever after.”
“No more problems.”
“Smooth sailing.”
“Life will be a breeze.”

Kiss farewell to teardrops and expect a perpetual smile on your face. Skipping and dancing in the streets will be the norm. Lighthearted and carefree. Burdens gone forever. Easy-peasy. Just a stroll in the park.

Has that been your experience since the day you were saved? Not mine — and probably not yours either — nor is it the pattern of Scripture.

Trials, tears, and tests are a normal part of Christian living. God’s people since Calvary — and long before Calvary — have suffered much. Scripture never hides that reality.

Take Joseph, for example. Have you read his story recently — and noticed the sovereignty of God quietly orchestrating every movement in the drama?

Centuries after Joseph’s God-honouring life ended, his testimony still spoke. The Psalmist wrote about him in Psalm 105. And now, millennia later, you are reading about him again. Joseph is no longer in iron fetters. The tears are long gone. He has been enjoying the presence of the Lord for a very long time.

"When he (the Lord) summoned a famine on the land and broke all supply of bread, He had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave. His feet were hurt with fetters; his neck was put in a collar of iron;
UNTIL what he had said came to pass, the word of the LORD tested him.
The king sent and released him…He made him Lord of his house and ruler of all his possessions…"
Psalm 105:16–22

The Lord tests us and tries us. But why?

Consider these familiar verses:

“You rejoice in this, even though now for a short time, if necessary, you suffer grief in various trials so that the proven character of your faith—more valuable than gold… may result in praise, glory, and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:6–7

“Consider it a great joy… whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance…” James 1:2–4

“He (God) comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:4

There are trials, difficulties, and even discipline along our Christian pathway that are definitely not easy and not a stroll in the park — not joyful in the least, as Hebrews 12 puts it:

“…not joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” Hebrews 12:11

This is the consistent pattern throughout Scripture: suffering first, then glory. How beautiful to think of the One who suffered in the path of the will of His Father — and then the glory that followed. The Risen Christ asked the two grieving travellers to Emmaus:

“Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory?” Luke 24:26

To distressed and suffering Christians, the Apostle Peter reminded them of:

“…the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.” 1 Peter 1:11

Of course, if my suffering is simply the consequence of my own folly or my steps outside the will of God, that does not lead to glory.

Joseph had only one life to live before his God and before the world. He had a brief moment on the stage of time. We can either squander our moment by “doing our own thing,” or we can fully cooperate with the Lord and leave behind a God-honouring testimony — in the minds of others and in the record of Heaven.

Did you notice that word “until” in Psalm 105? It was highlighted for a reason. It signals an intentional process — not some random coincidence. God was shaping Joseph. He was being tested. He had to wait until his until arrived.

You do too. And so do I.

Christian living is not — and never has been — a stroll in the park. Someone once said (the source now lost): “If it doesn’t kill you outright, it’s character-building.” Remember this, dear child of God: your suffering is not pointless — it is purposeful. It is woven into the very purposes of God.

“…we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Romans 5:3–5

For Joseph, there was an until — an afterwards.
There will be for you.
There always is.

PS – Since posting this Bible Bite, I came across a hymn written by A.M. Overton:

Anderson Marsh Overton

(Tennessee, June 20, 1900 – Fulton, Mississippi, July 14, 1952)

“The life of Anderson Overton, known as “A. M. Overton”, was consistently fruitful for his Saviour but not without its troubles. He was pastor of Fulton Baptist Church, beloved as an expository teacher of God’s Word, moving through book after book of the Bible in morning and evening sermons. He started a radio program called Radio Bible Class with the same intent. Harry Ironside once wrote him, commending him for the work he was doing there.

As the story is told by his son, Pastor Overton’s wife died during childbirth in 1932, and the infant, their 4th child, passed away as well. During the funeral, he began writing on a piece of paper, and when the preacher asked him about it afterwards, he showed him this hymn, just written. It flowed forth at the foot of two caskets from a broken, trusting heart. He later published a book of poetry called Chimes of Dawn, and the hymn is found there. We are told that the fragrance of sweet myrrh comes as the hardened “tears” of that bitter-tasting sap are crushed. We thank God for the release of this beautiful hymn from a crushed heart. He went on to remarry and God gave him four more children and much joy.” -AEC

MY Father’s way may twist and turn
   My heart may throb and ache,
But in my soul I’m glad to know,
   He maketh no mistake.
My cherished plans may go astray,
   My hopes may fade away,
But still I’ll trust my Lord to lead,
   For He doth know the way.
Tho’ night be dark and it may seem
   That day will never break,
I’ll pin my faith, my all, in Him,
   He maketh no mistake.
There’s so much now I cannot see,
   My eyesight’s far too dim,
But come what may, I’ll simply trust
   And leave it all to Him.
For by and by the mist will lift,
   And plain it all He’ll make,
Through all the way, tho’ dark to me,
   He made not one mistake.