Sunday Devotion- The Upside of Trouble

Janet Rubin


“When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I survived at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while.”
Angela’s Ashes, Frank McCourt

“Now it is a strange thing, but things that are good to have and days that are good to spend are soon told about, and not much to listen to; while things that are uncomfortable, palpitating, and even gruesome, may make a good tale, and take a deal of telling anyway.”
The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien

I love these quotes because they hold such truth, especially for a writer. Those of us who engage in the pursuit of good story-telling understand that a tale is nothing without conflict, and a story with none isn’t much of a story at all.

As we hone our craft, we try to create conflict and increase tension in our stories. We put our characters in terrible positions, emotionally torture them, put them up against great odds. Authors love to write a conflict (both internal and external) and tragedy-filled tale, and people love to read it. However, conflict simply for the sake of conflict is not enough. There must be a resolution or something learned...a satisfying conclusion of some sort. We love to cheer for the character who has beaten the odds, overcome the struggle, or grown in some important way.

However, we only love trials when they are fictional. And, more importantly, not about us. But as it turns out, trials not only make a good story, but also a better person. The Bible tells us that trials develop character:

James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

People who have walked with the Lord for a long time will tell you that it was during the hard times in life that they learned to trust and love God, during the worst of times that they grew and learned what really matters in life. Because we know that God is good and that He loves us, we can know that any trial He allows to enter our life is for our good:

Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

As writers, we get a double blessing: greater character and more story material; surely those tough experiences will end up sprinkled into future tales, and they will make our stories even more relatable for our readers.

Lord,
Thank You that You work all things for our good. We thank You for both the good and bad times and trust You to complete the good work You’ve started in us. May You be in our stories—the stories of our lives and the stories that we write. If trials are needed to make our lives ones worth living and our stories ones worth reading...Your will be done.

Amen