What the trying of your faith actually accomplishes

That often used and seemingly worn out cliche always seems ready for us to utter in those occasions when we see no progress in our lives; “I seem to moving two steps forward and three steps backwards.” However dismal our circumstances appear to us, things aren’t as they appear if you are a follower of Christ. Let me share with you another way to view challenging times when it seems you are being thrown backwards. 

Here is an excerpt from my novel - Polycarp, a destroyer of our gods, in chapter 14 where Polycarp is teaching one of his sons a valuable principle of life.

“I like to think of myself as an arrow positioned in the bow that is being firmly held by the hands of a mighty man. God is that mighty man. He crafts me into a straight arrow with a sharp tip and prepares to launch me towards the enemy, using me to wound, overpower, and kill the threat of the enemy.... Before an archer can launch his arrow however, he must apply great pressure.... How many times I have felt I was going backwards and was crumbling under the pressure, when all the time I was simply feeling the tension of the bow, and the backward motion as preparation for battle. And at the right moment, under the strain of the pressure, the arrow was shot into the air as it accelerates towards its target. Do you understand? The arrow lives for the tension; it requires it. The greater the pressure, the more power it possesses when launched at the target.”

Progress is one thing, but effectiveness in that progress is everything, and effectiveness is never an accident. As a follower of Christ, you believe that God controls your destiny, and will guide you through the obstacles and challenges of life into the fulfillment of a useful and happy life. The tension you feel and the frustrating days of little progress or backward motion is really God preparing you for that future advance. 

Be patient! Isn’t this essentially what James was charging the church regarding the purpose of trials in his letter in James 1:2-4? You could say that the trying of the faith God has worked into you is having a completing, finishing type of work. It not only increases your effectiveness, but you could also say your velocity into the renewed direction.