From Struggle To Strength Faith In Action

Struggling through life's challenges can make us question God's presence and purpose. Yet, what if those painful moments are actually God's way of strengthening us? In this heartfelt exploration of Romans 5:3-4, we discover the divine progression from suffering to endurance to character to hope—a spiritual refinement process that transforms our darkest moments into stepping stones toward our purpose.

I share my own raw journey through unexpected job loss, how I initially ran from God instead of toward Him, and the depression that followed. This vulnerable testimony reveals how God was working behind the scenes, using my season of hardship to build compassion, strength, and prepare me for greater blessings ahead. The pain that once seemed meaningless became the foundation for deeper faith and understanding.

The biblical examples of Joseph, David, and Jesus himself demonstrate this pattern—each endured tremendous suffering before fulfilling their divine calling. Their stories remind us that character isn't formed in comfort but forged through fire. When we trust God's refining process rather than resist it, we experience the unshakable hope that comes not from the absence of struggle but from the presence of God within it.

If you're facing difficult circumstances today, I encourage you to reflect on what God might be teaching you through this season. Take time to pray, journal, or sit in quiet reflection. Give God space to reveal His purposes and remember—you are growing stronger every day. Subscribe, share this message with someone who needs encouragement, and join our community at divineharmonyfaith.com where we journey together in faith.

Chapters

• 0:09 Welcome and Introduction
• 0:46 Faith in Action During Struggles
• 1:56 Suffering Produces Endurance and Character
• 4:28 Personal Testimony of Job Loss
• 10:39 Trusting God's Refining Process
• 15:29 Closing Prayer and Invitation

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:09

Welcome back to Divine Harmony Faith. I'm so glad you're joining me today for another inspiring episode. You'd have to excuse me, I am coming down with a little bit of a cold, but I did not want that to stop and or delay the spread of the gospel, the spread of the word, god's word. So please bear with me and my voice. If you have not done so already, please like, share and subscribe so we can continue to spread God's word to all those who will listen and those who will not listen. Thank you so much, guys. I really appreciate it.

Speaker 1: 0:46

I know life can get tough sometimes and it can feel like we're constantly battling one challenge after another, but today we're going to talk about turning those struggles into strengths. We're going to explore how faith in action can help us transform our thoughts and our toughest moments and powerful opportunities for growth. It's easy to feel defeated when things aren't going our way, but trust me, god has a way of using our pain and our hardship to mold us into something stronger. So grab your coffee, sit back and let's dive in to today's conversation. Have you guys ever found yourself going through a tough time and wondering why me, or why is this happening? It's a natural question when things get rough, when we think God is not with us. Things get rough when we think God is not with us. But here's the thing God does not waste our struggles. In fact, he uses them to build us up and draw us closer to him. There's a beautiful passage in the Bible that I want to reflect on today, and that's Romans 5, 3 through 4, and I'll read it we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. Think about that for a moment. Rejoicing in suffering might seem impossible, or even unexpected at first. Right, but when we look deeper, we see that suffering is a process, a refining process, and, just like when gold is purified by fire, our struggles purify our hearts and our souls. So we might ask how exactly does this work? First, it's important to recognize that endurance is produced through suffering. The trials and challenges we face are not meaningless. They teach us to endure. When life is tough, we often feel like we're at our breaking point. We can't handle it, it's too much. But that's the very moment when God is stretching our endurance. And here's the thing Endurance is a muscle right, just like the muscles in your legs. The more we endure, the stronger that muscle becomes. The more you lift weights, the stronger your legs become. The trials might not get easier, but we become more equipped to handle them.

Speaker 1: 3:25

I want you to think about a time in your life when you faced something difficult. Maybe it was a health struggle, a financial crisis, a relationship problem, I don't know. In that moment it probably felt like it would never end right. But when you look back now, you can see how that experience built your endurance. You're not the same person you were before, right Are you? I know I'm not. You've grown. That's the power of endurance.

Speaker 1: 3:57

And then, once we've developed endurance, something even more beautiful happens, and that's character. Endurance produces character. Think about the people you admire most, the ones who inspire you. I bet that they've gone through difficult times and those struggles have shaped their character. It's through the fire of suffering that we are refined and that we develop into the people God has called us to be. We see this pattern in scripture over and over again, and even now, david is coming into my mind. Even now, when we're talking about this, joseph is coming into my mind, even now, when we're talking about this.

Speaker 1: 4:40

If you look at biblical figures like David and Joseph and even Jesus himself. They didn't get to where they were without enduring hardship. Sometimes I think that we forget, as believers, because we have so much and we have so much going on, that hardship and struggles is what shapes and molds our character. Joseph was sold into slavery. Remember that. Joseph was sold into slavery, but it was through those trials that God positioned him for greatness. David was a young shepherd boy, but after facing giants and running from Saul, he became a king and Jesus. Jesus endured the ultimate suffering on the cross, not just for himself, but for all of us, don't forget. He was in the wilderness and he was bleeding sweat. Sweat was running from his forehead and it was drops of blood he had to endure. His endurance and character gave us hope. And that leads us to the final point hope.

Speaker 1: 5:49

Romans 5.4 says that character produces hope. As we endure and grow in character, we begin to see the bigger picture. God is at work, even when we don't understand everything that's happening and I will yell it and say it all the time God is at work when we don't understand what's happening. He is moving behind the scenes, he is moving in your life. You will not always see it. You will not always see it, you will not always understand it, but that hope is not a fleeting, fragile hope. It's deep, it's unshakable, it's confidence that God is faithful.

Speaker 1: 6:37

Hope doesn't come from the absence of struggle, but from the presence of God in the middle of your struggle. So when we're facing challenges, we have to shift our perspective. Instead of looking at our struggles as something that will break us, we have to see them as opportunities for growth. Each difficulty we encounter is a chance to build endurance, to grow our character and experience God's hope in a deeper way. Now let me be clear. I'm not saying that we should go looking for struggle or pretend that they don't hurt, because struggles hurt. If you can't pay your rent at the end of the month and you fear getting put out and you have three little children, that's hurtful, pain is real and suffering is not something to be taken lightly. But what I am saying is that when we face those challenges, we have to remember that God is with us in the midst of it all. He will never leave us or forsake us. It's biblical, it's scripture, and his word does not go out void. He is a God that cannot lie, and we have to remember that and he will use every trial to mold us into something stronger, something more like him no-transcript, so that we look more like him.

Speaker 1: 8:08

A few years ago I went through a really tough season in my life. I got laid off from a job I had worked at for, I'm going to say, about six or seven years. It was very tough, this job, I thought, would be a career for me. So, after bouncing from jobs to job, I finally had found that job where I was like okay, this is it, I could be here for 50 years and retire from here. I was there for about six or seven and they ended up laying me off.

Speaker 1: 8:38

After that happened, I was very torn. I didn't understand. I knew God had led me there for whatever reason. At the time and this was some years ago I was trusting God, but nothing. I started feeling so distant from God I just I couldn't feel him anymore and I don't know if it was the pain of losing this job that I just knew God sent me to. I don't know if it was suffering after not having income, not knowing where my next meal was going to come from, although I should have been trusting in God. I see now how he was with me and he was there.

Speaker 1: 9:17

But what I started doing was going backwards. I let the grief and the lack of understanding and not knowing why this had happened and questioning I let that start. I let that fester inside of me and I started acting in ways that I shouldn't be acting. I started living ungodly. I was doing ungodly things and it just wasn't happening for me right. No matter what I was doing, I felt like everything was just crumbling. It was weird.

Speaker 1: 9:57

It was a very dark time in my life and during that time, I found myself asking the same questions that I was just saying, like why is this happening? What am I supposed to learn from this? Why are you doing this to me? I heard you so clearly. Wasn't I supposed to be there? I mean, there was days when I didn't even feel like getting out of bed. But as I learned well, I'm not going to say I learned I'm going to say God showed me during that time to lean into my faith.

Speaker 1: 10:30

Don't run from it, but lean into it, because during that time, I felt like I was running from God. I don't know why. Now that I look back on it, I knew God would provide. I knew God. I know I trusted God, but I don't understand why I chose to run from him. But as I leaned into him and into my faith, I began to understand that this was not the end of my story, but rather part of the process. I was so glad that God picked me up out of my misery, shook me off and got me back on track, because we tend to allow things in our lives to really get us unfocused. We allow our emotions to rise up and switch us from what we know or take us away from what we know is truth. But I know now that God was refining me, he was teaching me endurance, helping me to build character and, most importantly, he was showing me hope, right In ways I had never experienced before.

Speaker 1: 11:36

Looking back now, I can see how those struggles shaped who I am today. I am stronger, I'm more compassionate and more reliant on God than I was before. He took me through that so that I could relate to others, so that I could be compassionate to others when they go through things. I know today I am stronger because I went through that, because, to be honest, I will say that I feel like I fell into a bit of a depression. No doctor or anything had said that, but I just like I said, some days I couldn't even get out of bed. I was just like what is going on? And I think it hit me so hard because I had worked for this company but I had given them all. When I say my all, I mean my all. But it's okay Cause, like I said, I'm stronger, I'm more compassionate, I'm more reliant on God than I was ever before. And I can tell you with full confidence that God used that season to prepare me for the blessings that were to come, because after that I got a great job. I was able to take some time during that season to visit and speak and fellowship with family members that, because of this job, I hadn't seen in so long, because I was so dedicated and this job just was taking over my life in a sense. And maybe that's why in hindsight, maybe that's why God removed me from that position, because the one that I got after was really really good and it blessed my family as a whole.

Speaker 1: 13:19

So I want to encourage you today if you're going through a difficult time, don't lose heart. Know that God is with you and he's working in you. The struggle you face today are shaping you into the person he's calling you to be. Trust the process that's the key word. Trust the process that's the key word. Trust the process. We don't want to trust the process, but we have to. Don't give up. Keep moving forward in faith and remember that every step you take is building your endurance and your character and your hope. And a lot of times, god has to take you through spiritual refining, spiritual training has to take you through spiritual refining, spiritual training.

Speaker 1: 13:59

I challenge you to take a moment and reflect. What is God teaching you through your struggle? Just take a second and write that down on a piece of paper and list all the things that you are learning through your struggle. How is he using this season to refine you and make you stronger? Write it down. How am I being used during this season? How is God refining me? To make me stronger? And then, most of all, take time to pray, to journal or simply sit in a quiet reflection. Give God an opportunity to respond to your questions. Give God an opportunity and a space to reveal things to you, and you do that by taking time to pray, by journaling, writing down your questions and then writing down responses, opening your heart and your mind to hear and receive what God has for you. And sitting in that quiet place, taking a moment away from the hustle and bustle and the daily life, the struggles of daily life. Sit in a quiet place and just reflect and know that, as you lean into your faith, you're growing in strength every single day. All right, guys, let's close for prayer.

Speaker 1: 15:29

Heavenly Father, we come to you today thanking you first and foremost, lord God, for your refining process, thanking you, heavenly Father, for the struggles that we go through in our day-to-day lives. As we know, your scripture says that it is just to make us better, lord God. It is to give us hope. It is to mold and shape us into the people that you have desired us to be, that you have made us to be. Lord God, you knew us before we were ever created. You knew the plan that you had for us. You knew our purpose, lord God, and in order for us to get there, you must shape and mold us, lord God. So we welcome the struggle, heavenly Father. We thank you in the midst of it, but we also ask, lord God, that you give us all strength, heavenly Father, to get through what you have prepared for us at the table. Strengthen us in our time of need, strengthen us during the struggle. Help us to know and understand. Grant us the knowledge, lord God, to get through what it is you have us going through. But most of all, lord God, help us not to run from you but run to you, lord God, during this time, so that we may gain from the experience, so that we may see, understand and learn from what it is that you are taking us through. We pray this prayer in the wonderful name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Amen and amen.

Speaker 1: 17:07

All right, guys, I never want to take for granted that everyone listening today knows Jesus. You can be long before you believe. We're glad to have you with us, but I want to extend an invitation for you to personally know Jesus Christ for yourself. If you haven't yet experienced his goodness and would like to, I invite you to pray this prayer with me. Lord God, I am a sinner. Forgive me. Today. I repent and ask you to come into my heart and my life, turn me around and make me a new creation. All right, if you prayed that prayer, you are now a child of God. I celebrate this step you've taken. I encourage you to find a Bible-based church that's teaching directly from scripture in your area. And get in the church, connect with them, get baptized and start your new life in Christ, walking in freedom that he has granted and given us all. So I am excited for you. Also, feel free to reach out to us at divineharmonyfaithcom. We'd love to hear from you, answer any questions you may have, pray for you and with you and keep you encouraged. All right, welcome home guys. If you've prayed that prayer. Thank you so much for joining me today on Divine Harmony Faith.

Speaker 1: 18:38

I pray that today's episode has been a reminder that your struggles are not in vain. They are part of God's beautiful process of refining and strengthening you. So if you're facing a tough season right now, take heart. God is using it to build you up. Trust in him, trust in the process and know that you are growing stronger every day. If this episode has resonated with you, I'd love for you to share it with a friend who may need a life encouragement today.

Speaker 1: 19:09

I'm sorry, not a life encouragement. He needs a little encouragement today. You guys got to excuse me. I'm a little under the weather, as you probably can hear from my voice, but that's okay because God is good and his word still needs to go out. And remember, guys, you are not alone in your journey. We are all walking this path together. We are all lifting each other up in faith. So just remember, you're not alone. All right, guys, until next time. Take care and stay blessed. Don not alone. All right, guys, until next time. Take care and stay blessed. Don't forget to like, share, subscribe and so that the gospel gets out to as many people as it can. Thank you so much. Have a wonderful day, guys. Bye.