Trials and contentment—two words I never thought belonged in the same sentence. It’s like mixing peanut butter with mayonnaise instead of jelly. And while I’m sure some strange souls find that combo edible, It’s not always easy to wrap my head around it.
Even James makes reference to this way of living and how these two go hand-in-hand:
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
As I have studied this deeper, one particular day I opened my Bible to Matthew 4, and something hit me like a news flash. Jesus, fresh off a 40-day fast, standing in the wilderness, starving. At his weakest. And that’s when the enemy shows up, all smug and manipulative:
“How can you possibly be the Son of God and go hungry? Just command these stones to be turned into loaves of bread.” (v.3)
In that moment, Jesus could have done it. He had the power. One word, and that hunger would vanish. But He didn’t.
Why?
Because God hadn’t given Him permission.
Jesus knew that using His power outside of God's timing would be premature—one that would shortcut the bigger plan. And here’s the thing: He was in peace with that. He was willing to stay hungry, to sit in the discomfort, to wait on His Father. Even when it made no earthly sense.
And that right there? That’s where we fall apart. Because when life gets tough, when the trial is unbearable, we want out. Now. We want the shortcut, the quick fix, the "let’s turn these stones into bread" moment. But contentment in the middle of suffering? That’s a whole other level of trust.
Three things stand out to me from this:
1. Relationship
The longer I live, the deepest reality is this: without a real relationship with God, we can make rushed, premature decisions. We run ahead, grasping for our own solutions instead of waiting on Him. And that impatience? That’s what wrecks our peace and fuels our frustration. Why? Because we miss the beauty of the wait. We miss what He’s trying to teach us in the delay.
2. Trust
You can’t have trust without relationship. The deeper you know someone, the more you trust them. Jesus knew His Father so well that even in His weakest state—hungry, exhausted, vulnerable—He still trusted God’s timing. No shortcuts. No panic moves. Just trust.
3. Restraint
This one is difficult. Because when life gets hard, we want to fix it. We want to take control, speed things up, force a solution. But that’s exactly what leads to rising frustration and misplaced action. The root? A lack of trust that God actually knows what He’s doing. So we choose restraint. We wait. Even when it doesn’t make sense. Even when it’s painful. Even when we feel like we can’t.
A Real-Life Battle: Faith and Charlie’s Journey
On July 27th in 2021, my daughter Faith’s world flipped upside down with one sentence: “My husband has COVID.”
The norm is: People get sick, they recover. Except Charlie didn’t get better. He got worse. And fast. Faith was already battling a difficult pregnancy—there were concerns about little Charity’s growth. And now, just weeks before delivery, she was suddenly a caregiver, watching her husband slip further away. Edwin and I made the call: she would come stay with us while Charlie’s brothers looked after him. But within 24 hours, Charlie was back in the hospital. August 6th—he was admitted. Again.
Then came August 11th. Faith gave birth to their baby girl while Charlie lay just a floor above her in ICU, fighting for his life.
I remember praying, Oh Jesus, what are You about to teach my daughter?
As a mom, I wanted to take her place, to shield her from the pain. Having a baby without your husband by your side? I could not imagine it. But there she was, living it. And I watched her walk this out with a strength that only comes from relationship, trust, and restraint. She didn’t rush to control the uncontrollable. She didn’t demand answers. She leaned into Jesus, choosing contentment even in the unknown.
And it didn’t get easier.
Charlie spent 77 days in the hospital. SEVENTY-SEVEN. Every complication that could happen, happened. He went to the edge of death multiple times. And at just 26 years old, we were left wondering why? Why do some people recover easily while others fight for their next breath? It didn’t make sense. We were still walking through the loss of my dad to Covid November of 2020 so it wasn’t hard for fear to creep in this situation.
But do you know what kept showing up over and over again?
God.
Miracle after miracle. Provision in places we didn’t expect. Strength when there should have been none. God’s faithfulness and compassion in the darkest, hardest places. And through it all, I saw my daughter live out those same three things:
Her relationship with Jesus carried her.
Her trust in Him kept her standing.
Her restraint kept her from breaking.
She didn’t jump ahead of the process. She didn’t demand quick fixes. She stayed content while walking in the deep pain of uncertainty, holding on to the One who holds it all.
And the story isn’t over.
Charlie came home that November of 2021—praise God—but the road of recovery was steep. It took him over a year of fighting to regain his strength, to walk on his own, to run again when the Doctors said he would never be able to. Faith juggled the weight of it all—caring for her husband, raising a little baby, and navigating a reality they never expected. It was exhausting. It was overwhelming. But I knew this: God was sustaining her. Giving her the strength to endure, to trust, to find joy in that season.
The Bottom Line
We don’t get to choose our trials. We don’t get to decide when they start, how long they last, or how they end. But we do get to choose how we walk through them.
Jesus, hungry in the wilderness, chose to wait.
Faith, exhausted and broken, chose to trust.
And we? We get to choose too.
So today, no matter what wilderness you’re in, will you choose to wait? Will you trust that God’s timing is better than your own? Will you resist the urge to force an outcome and instead find contentment—yes, contentment—in the process?
Because maybe, just maybe, the miracle isn’t just in the end of the trial.
Maybe it’s in the middle of it too.
A Story of Faith, Resilience, and Miracles
Charlie and Faith’s journey is more than a story of survival—it’s a testament to God’s power in the middle of life’s hardest battles. From the depths of uncertainty to undeniable miracles, they’ve walked through fire and have come out with a testimony that will strengthen your faith.
Visit www.breathoffaith.com to read their powerful story and check out their new book, where they share the raw, unfiltered truth of trusting God when nothing makes sense.
