Have you ever felt bruised and mauled by the trials you face? Do you ever feel you are bouncing along in life, like a pinball, being poked and jabbed by obstacle after obstacle? Do you ever just want time out, to catch your breath, and nurse your wounds, emotionally, spiritually and mentally?
These experiences are not without meaning! God uses trials to prepare and condition our hearts, so that we finally cry out and surrender totally to him. Until our "stony hearts" of pride and vanity are turned into "hearts of flesh" in submission to God, we are forever stunted from growing spiritually.
In nature, there exists an amazing physical parallel. The ironwood, smoke and blue palo verde trees live in one of the harshest regions on earth—the desert of the American southwest. The soaring temperatures and parched ground there make it a killing field for most plants and trees.
And yet, the ironwood, smoke and blue palo verde trees thrive. How do they do it? The seeds of these trees have a tough outer coating that must be removed before the seed inside can germinate. In fact, the seed will never grow if it is planted before the tough outer coating is removed.
But how is the coating removed? It must be broken, bashed, beaten, abraded, scraped, cracked, dissolved and destroyed. At first, the seeds lie dormant, scattered beneath the parent tree until winds or desert storms carry them away. As they are washed away, the torrent bashes them against rocks and other debris, scraping them against sand in the swirling gullies.
The seeds are deposited downstream as waters subside beneath the surface. Through the rigors of wind, rain and floods, the elements have prepared the seeds to germinate and grow, and supplied adequate water by depositing the seeds in the path of future seasonal rains.
Sometimes we may feel like those seeds— bounced, bruised, banged and broken. But often God is simply preparing our hearts to respond to His calling— to see the sin that destroys us. David, a man after God's own heart, wrote: "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart—these O God, You will not despise" (Psalm 51:17).
Unless we go through the abrasions and contusions of spiritual trials, we will not bear fruit. "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; and make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed" (Hebrews 12:11–13, KJV).
Eventually, every person who has ever lived will have to choose between submitting to God, or being ground down by God. Jesus said: "Whomsoever shall fall upon that Stone [Christ] shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder" (Luke 20:18, KJV).
You and I can have real joy in the midst of trials. Not a silly, superficial pretense of happiness, but deep, heartfelt joy about the process God uses to help us overcome our vanity, stubbornness and pride. "The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He guards all his bones; not one of them is broken" (Psalm 34:17–20).
We are being prepared, molded, shaped—and, yes, sometimes even broken and bruised—for the purpose of bringing forth tremendous, incredible spiritual growth in the future! The tough, hardy seeds of the ironwood, smoke and blue palo verde trees need to be broken, bruised and roughed up before growth can occur. Our carnal nature is much the same—it must be softened and dissolved—even broken! But the growth that results is the "peaceable fruit of righteousness" that will last forever!