Trials. It’s not word we like very much. It implies hardship, maybe pain, and certainly a fight. Those among us who are wise will recognize that our culture is teaching us, day after day, to think of trials as bad - as wrong - and the only sensible strategy in dealing with trials is to obsessively look for a way out. But scripture tells us a different story about trials. We learn that our trials aren’t just random disasters in our lives, but tools God uses to shape us. God is in command of our trials. This means that God is the one who is trying us, so we can trust him when we’re in pain. And the fact that God tries us implies that he cares about us. He loves us. So what now? What do we do with our trials? How do we think about them and respond to them? It’s one thing to believe all this. It’s quite another to meet God in the midst of our pain.