(This brief post is part of a sermon I’ve recently preached on “The Providence of God.” So, the majority of what you see below is straight from my manuscript as I preached it, thus, the bold, underlining, and the CAPS which I use for emphasis. The article by John Murray called “Behind a Frowning Providence” was very helpful on this topic. Some of my own thoughts are mingled in with some of Murray’s in this post.)
God Can Use our Trials to Expose Our Sins
The Puritan, Thomas Boston, says, “The crook in the lot [the trial, affliction, or difficulty] is the great engine of providence for making men [and women] appear in their true colours.” Seeing our “true colours” is a major key in our continuing spiritual growth. Ironically, there is very little spiritual growth without difficulty, and there is very little spiritual growth apart from a great awareness of our own sinfulness. The reason it takes trials to expose our sins is because the heart is “deceitful above all things” (Jeremiah 17:9). Sin desires to remain hiding in the dark corners of our hearts; sin desires to remain hidden from our immediate sight. It takes the “Stick” of Trials to BEAT sin “out of the bush” it’s hiding in. The Monster of Sin within will not Emerge until Immediately and Directly Provoked by Difficulties. But once it’s provoked, the Monster of sin will come out Growling and Angry…and this is GOOD! We need to KNOW what’s HIDING IN THE BUSHES of our hearts! We NEED to see it!
I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the movies “Alien” or “Predator.” I watched them many years ago. But those creatures are flat-out Ugly, Hideous, and Mean! It’s good for the “Alien” in your heart to be seen for how Ugly it is. You need to know how “Mean” You can get…this doesn’t mean that you “ACT MEAN,” but it’s good for you to SEE what’s there! There are so many things that make sense in the Christian life ONLY by seeing our Sins as they are
Here are 7 quick reasons it’s good to see our sins in their true colors:
1. Our often Miserable States in life makes sense when we see our sins as they are.
2. Eternal, Conscious Hell makes sense when we see our sins as they are.
3. Uninhibited Worship and Reckless Abandon to God makes sense when we see our sins as they are WHEN COUPLED with God’s GOODNESS and FORGIVENESS through Christ!
4. Humility and Understanding towards OTHERS makes sense when we see our sins as they really are.
5. Questioning of ourselves, as in, Lowering our Pride makes sense when we see our sins as they are.
6. The Dark Events, and Wicked People of our world, makes sense when we see our sins as they really are.
7. Spending time with God, whether corporately or personally, makes sense when we see our sins as they really are BECAUSE we see JUST HOW MUCH SIN in our hearts NEEDS to be EXTRACTED! AND THERE ARE OTHERS…and Trials can be a CATALYST to Cause Spiritual Growth in these areas of our lives. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said that “We are on too good terms with ourselves,” and I think he’s correct. It does not take too much for pride and sin to Breed and Multiply within our hearts.
Note what is Not being said: I am not saying that because you have sinned, therefore, God is sending this trial. No one can say that God is doing that, for certain, in any situation. God is doing a trillion things in any situation, and we are not privy to what all God is doing or why He is doing it. At the same time, we do know that one reason God may send a trial is to expose sin in our lives (see 2 Corinthians 12:1-10, a.k.a., Paul’s “thorn” in the flesh). What we must do in our trials, regardless of why they are sent, is to trust that God is good, that God works for our ultimate good (Romans 8:28), and that He does all things for His glory.