Perseverance Through Trials: Keeping Your Eyes on God’s Bigger Picture

Editor’s note – JM Troppello opens with something ordinary: a job assessment that turned out harder than expected. But the real subject here is what we do when any worthwhile pursuit – a career goal, a prayer we’ve repeated for years, a hard season in a marriage or family – takes longer and costs more than we planned. BCW is running this piece because the question she raises outlasts her assessment: are we keeping our eyes on the goal that actually matters, or losing ourselves in the frustration of the moment?

When the Process Gets Harder Than Expected

Have you ever worked toward something important and found yourself discouraged because the process was harder than you expected? Maybe you’re learning a new skill, working toward a career goal, or dealing with something in your personal life that requires more patience than you anticipated. Sometimes the steps we need to take to reach our goals aren’t necessarily the ones we enjoy the most.

I was reminded of that today while working through an assessment for a potential online work project. I’ve been exploring opportunities through Handshake AI, and today I was completing an assessment to see whether I qualify for one of their AI testing projects. I was also signing up for additional training opportunities because I’m still looking for ways to build more consistent income through online work.

As I worked through the assessment, I realized it was a little more challenging than I had expected. At times, I had to slow down, think carefully, and really focus on what I was doing. But instead of allowing the difficulty to discourage me, I reminded myself why I was doing it in the first place.

I’m working toward something bigger than completing one assessment.

Editor’s note – It’s worth noticing that Troppello doesn’t pretend the difficulty was pleasant. She names the discouragement plainly and then chooses perseverance anyway. That’s a small, honest picture of what James 1 describes a few paragraphs later – faith tested produces something worth having, even when the testing itself feels like nothing but friction.

Remember Why You Started

One of my goals is to have more consistent work projects coming in each week. As someone who’s been building different income streams through freelancing and digital marketing, I know how important it is to keep learning and exploring new opportunities. Some weeks are more financially productive than others, and additional work opportunities could help create more stability.

That’s one reason I’ve been interested in learning more about AI-related work. There are opportunities to help evaluate and test AI systems, and I’m interested in seeing whether this type of work could become another income stream for me. Of course, completing an assessment doesn’t guarantee that I’ll qualify or receive regular assignments, but it’s a step worth taking.

As I was going through the assessment today, I kept thinking about the importance of perseverance. It would have been easy to become frustrated because some of the questions required more thought and effort than I anticipated. But I knew that if I wanted to pursue this opportunity, I needed to be willing to work through the challenging parts of the process.

And that made me think about something much more important than my business goals. How often do we face difficult situations in our lives and become so focused on what we’re going through that we lose sight of the bigger picture?

Maybe you’re working toward a goal that feels like it’s taking forever. Perhaps you’re dealing with a difficult family situation, financial concerns, or something you’ve been praying about for a long time. When you’re in the middle of those circumstances, it can be difficult to remember that the challenges you’re facing today aren’t necessarily the end of your story.

Sometimes we need to remind ourselves why we keep moving forward. For me, that’s true in my work, but it’s especially true in my relationship with the Lord.

Editor’s note – Notice the turn here: a conversation about income streams becomes a conversation about trust. That’s not a stretch on Troppello’s part – it’s how ordinary life actually works for a believer. The same patience God asks of us in waiting rooms and job applications is the patience He’s building in us for everything else.

Growing Through the Difficult Seasons

One thing I’ve been learning throughout my Christian walk is that spiritual growth doesn’t always happen during the easiest seasons of life. Sometimes it’s through difficulties, waiting, and situations we don’t understand that we learn to trust God more deeply. Those experiences can reveal areas where we need to grow in patience, faith, humility, or perseverance.

That doesn’t mean I enjoy going through difficult circumstances. I don’t think most of us would willingly choose trials and tribulations if we had another option. But I do believe God can use those experiences to teach us valuable lessons and strengthen our relationship with Him.

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. (James 1:2-4)

I think this is an important reminder because James isn’t saying trials are always pleasant. He encourages believers to recognize that testing our faith can produce patience and spiritual maturity. God can use difficult experiences to develop something in us that we might not have learned in the same way during an easier season.

I’ve certainly experienced that in my own life. There have been situations when I wanted answers immediately, but instead, I had to learn to wait and trust God. There have also been times when I wanted to control how something would work out, only to realize that I needed to surrender the situation to Him.

And I’m still learning those lessons.

Even now, my husband and I are praying about things and trusting God to work out situations. But when I look back over the past year, I can see how much He’s been teaching me about surrender, patience, and keeping my mind focused on Him. I’m not the same person I was a year ago, and I’m thankful for the spiritual growth I’ve experienced.

That growth didn’t happen because every situation was easy. It happened as I continued learning to trust God through the circumstances I was facing. And I believe that’s something we all need to remember when life becomes challenging.

Instead of only asking God to remove a difficult situation, sometimes we also need to ask Him what He wants to teach us through it. We can pray for wisdom, strength, and a heart that’s willing to grow, even when the process is uncomfortable. We may not understand every reason behind what we’re experiencing, but we can trust that God can work in our lives through it.

Editor’s note – James 1:2-4 is often quoted and rarely believed. It’s one thing to agree that trials produce endurance in principle; it’s another to actually count a frustrating season as joy while you’re living inside it. Troppello’s honesty about still learning that lesson is more useful than a tidy resolution would have been.

Keeping Our Eyes on the Eternal Goal

As I thought about my assessment today, I realized how important it is to remember the difference between our temporary goals and our eternal purpose.

I want to continue growing my business and creating additional income for my family. I want to learn new skills, qualify for worthwhile opportunities, and become more consistent in my work. Those are meaningful goals, and I believe it’s important to be diligent and responsible with the opportunities God gives us.

But those goals aren’t the most important things in my life.

My relationship with Jesus Christ matters more than any business opportunity, financial milestone, or personal accomplishment. As a Christian, I know that my ultimate hope is spending eternity with the Lord, and I want to continue growing in my faith while I’m here on earth. I want my life to reflect His love, His truth, and the work He’s doing in my heart.

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14)

I love the way the Apostle Paul describes pressing forward. He recognized that he hadn’t reached complete spiritual maturity, but he kept pursuing Christ. He focused on the calling and future God had placed before him.

That’s the kind of mindset I want to have in my Christian walk.

I know I’m still growing, and I know God is still working in areas of my life. Sometimes I make mistakes, become distracted, or find myself worrying about things I’ve already prayed about. But I don’t want those moments to keep me from moving forward in my relationship with Him.

I want to keep pressing on.

When I’m working toward a business goal, I need to remember that the difficult steps are often part of the learning process. When I’m dealing with a challenging situation in my family or personal life, I need to remember that God can give me wisdom and strength to respond in a way that honors Him. When I’m facing spiritual struggles, I need to keep my focus on Christ instead of letting discouragement pull me away from Him.

I think it’s also important to recognize that growth takes time. We don’t become spiritually mature overnight, just as we don’t master a new skill after completing one training session. There are lessons to learn, habits to develop, and moments when we need to keep going even when progress seems slow.

Sometimes the most important progress happens in our hearts.

I may not know yet whether I’ll qualify for the AI testing project I was working toward today. I’ll continue completing the necessary steps and exploring the opportunities available to me. But regardless of the outcome, I’m thankful for the reminder that worthwhile goals often require patience, effort, and perseverance.

More importantly, I’m thankful that God is continuing to work in my life.

I don’t want to focus so much on today’s difficulties that I forget what truly matters. I want to keep growing in my relationship with the Lord, learning from the experiences He allows me to walk through, and trusting Him with the things I cannot control.

Whatever you’re facing today, I want to encourage you not to lose sight of the bigger picture. Whether you’re working toward a professional goal, navigating a difficult family situation, or walking through a challenging season spiritually, remember that the process can be an opportunity for growth. Keep praying, keep learning, and keep taking the next step in front of you.

And above all, keep your eyes on Jesus.

Are you working toward something right now that’s been more challenging than you expected? How do you stay focused on the bigger picture, and what has God been teaching you through the process?

A Word from the Editor
Paul wrote Philippians 3:13-14 from a prison cell, not a season of ease, and still called himself a man reaching forward rather than looking back. That’s the posture Troppello is describing in her own, smaller circumstances – and it’s the posture Scripture asks of every believer, regardless of what today’s difficulty happens to be. Whatever you’re pressing through this week, the goal was never the difficulty itself. It was always Christ.

Editor Comment: Thank you, JM Troppello, for this honest reminder that perseverance in small things trains us for faithfulness in the things that matter most.

This article appeared on Medium and is reprinted with modifications and by permission.