Christian life is an ultimate and eternal triumph. The process could be painful, yet hope in the Lord, His Word, His sustaining Power, and grace is abundantly available.
Trouble: Eliphaz states that men and women are born in the world to trouble as the spark flies upward. (Job 5:7) His understanding was that all troubles are because of sin, and it is inevitable.
Toil: Moses writes that human life could be up to seventy years, sometimes with strength, it could be eighty. Yet, it is filled with toil and trouble. (Psalm 90:10) Toil is purposeless, pointless, and meaningless repetitive work. (Ecclesiastes 5:18-20) Work is God’s design for humans; however, without satisfaction, work becomes a toil.
Temptations: Satan desires that all humans be tempted, seduced, and destroyed. Wily Satan knows each person’s weakness and tempts them in the weakest area to make them fall. Apostle James teaches that humans are tempted by flesh, and not by God. (James 1:14)
Tests: There are tests God gives to humans to help them measure up to His standards and expectations. Will Abraham love God more than his son, of his old age, Isaac? That was a real test of faith; Abraham came out successful.
Trials: Like tests, trials also challenge the faith of a person. Daniel had to face the trial of praying to God, rejecting King Darius’s law to pray to him alone. He neither feared for his life nor the lions. Trials could be allowed by God, and need not be a direct test from God.
Tribulations: Tribulations are an intense period of agony and suffering. Many Christians live in a hostile environment, hated by society, and hunted by an ungodly and unrighteous government. The Lord Jesus Christ taught His disciples that there would be tribulations in the world. (John 16:33)
Tears: When a child is born, crying and tears are natural signs of life. That is the symbolic destiny of all humans. The good Lord stores the tears and ultimately wipes away the tears forever. (Psalm 56:8; Revelation 21:4)
Am I a triumphant Christian awaiting the trumpet call of His Second Coming?