Transformational Trials

By Dennis Lee

Diamonds have been one of humanity’s most sought-after stone, and have been associated and synonymous with wealth and love. But what is absolutely amazing is how they are formed that make them so valuable.

Diamonds are nothing more than carbon which is a very common element and is the fourth most abundant chemical element in the universe. This is what is so amazing that one of the most common elements in the universe can be formed into one of the most valued of all stones.

What makes it so valuable? What it takes is pressure and very high temperatures over a period of time.

And that is what God does in the lives of those who believe in Him, and that is, He makes us into diamonds, which is why we are often referred to as diamonds in the rough.

No matter what we are going through, it doesn’t have to be discouraging. Trials no longer need to send us to the dungeon of despair, or the swamp of sadness. Trials no longer need to send us spiraling into hopelessness.

Instead, we can approach the trials and tribulations of life with the knowledge that, no matter what, God will work them out for our good.

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. (Romans 8:28)

Paul is explaining the great benefits that God works toward our good through the trials and tribulations of life.

The word, ‘tribulation,’ in the Greek primarily means a pressing or pressure and speaks to the pressures that life brings. And when Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33), it means that life is going to be especially hard, especially as believers. But we don’t have to worry; because Jesus has overcome the world and through Him we have peace.

Paul then adds to Jesus’s promise by saying that through such suffering, through such affliction, through such pressure, God is working out even more, and that is perseverance, character, and a hope, which we have seen is the confident assurance and expectation that God will keep His word and promise.

The Bible says, “We also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.” (Romans 5:3-4)

Therefore, we can face the trials and tribulations of life knowing that God has a purpose and a plan behind them.

I remember watching a Superman movie where he takes a lump of coal and transforms it into a diamond.

And what this speaks to me is that these trials that come in our lives are really transformational, in that God applies these pressures, these trials to form us from these lumps of everyday coal into valuable diamonds, not diamonds in the rough, mind you, but diamonds that are beautifully shaped reflecting the many facets of God in our lives.

Dennis Lee is a past business owner who operated a multimillion-dollar office supply and equipment company along with several small businesses in Las Vegas, Nevada.

He graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master of arts in theology from Talbot School of Theology, along with a master of divinity equivalency degree from Fuller Theological Seminary.

After graduation from Talbot in 1995, Dennis took over as the senior pastor of Hallelujah Christian Fellowship, a nondenominational church in Las Vegas, Nevada. After ten years, he moved to Mesquite, Nevada, where he is presently the senior pastor of Living Waters Fellowship, a Foursquare church.

Dennis is also a prolific writer. He presently has two books, “From Here to There: A Journey to Spiritual Transformation,” and “Wells of Living Waters,” along with other books and pamphlets that he describes as “down the pike.” He also writes a religious column for a local newspaper entitled, “Rediscover the Bible for Life,” along with daily devotionals and thoughts that he posts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Living Waters Fellowship’s Website.

Feature Photo By Gigi is used with Permission.