Trials and Perseverance

How suffering refines faith and endurance. This module addresses the reality of hardship and how trials can deepen character and trust when met with faithful practices. It provides pastoral frameworks for lament, endurance, and meaning-making, plus community practices that sustain people through seasons of testing. The aim is resilient faith that endures without losing hope or compassion.

Objectives

Build community support items for hard seasons.

Learn practical ways to persevere.

Reframe trials as formative, not meaningless.

Reflections

What spiritual practice strengthens me in hardship?

What supports help me endure now?

How have past trials shaped my faith?

NowTo the HowTo

Accountability/Tracking

Use a shared tracker to note daily practices (rest, prayer, Scripture) and one sign of endurance.

Community Action

Form triads for mutual prayer and check ins during a current trial.

Creative Project

Compose a short, honest letter to your future self about what you’re learning in this season.

Leader Prompt

Offer pastoral language for lament and lead a brief guided lament/prayer time.

Personal Practice

Write a one paragraph “perseverance plan” listing Scripture, person, and practice to rely on in hard moments.

Devotionals

Appreciating Anguish

2 min read

I once knew a man who did not pray for patience... hated the thought/idea of it... strictly because of God's promise that came along with...

The Meaning of Suffering

2 min read

Almost since the beginning of time, we have wondered, pondered, contemplated, argued, and fought over this one question; "If God is good,...

Wearing Your Bearings

2 min read

What? Bearings as in Ball Bearings? No, those are rarely worn, if ever. But Bearings as in 'directions', or 'route', even a 'destination...

Guilty by Reason of Calamity

2 min read

No one really knows the intents of the heart, the core thing(s) that motivate us to do and to be like we are... many times, we don't even...

Perseverance Preserved

2 min read

There have been times when I inherited someone else's project, and had to get my head/heart wrapped around their original vision, or...

Frazzle Beater

2 min read

There are so many things I could be doing, so many things I need to do, and so many things I want to do... it's frazzling to try...