The Object of Trials by Ellen G. White

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Tacoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Dec 22, 1910

The Object of Trials

By Ellen G. White

Our sorrows do not spring out of the ground. God “doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.” When He permits trials and afflictions, it is “for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness.” If received in faith, the trial that seems so bitter and hard to bear will prove a blessing. The cruel blow that blights the joys of earth will be the means of turning our eyes to heaven. How many there are who would never have known Jesus, had not sorrow led them to seek comfort in Him! The trials of life are God’s workmen, to remove the impurities and roughness from our character. Their hewing, squaring, and chiselling, their burnishing and polishing, is a painful process, it is hard to be pressed down to the grinding-wheel. But the stone is brought forth prepared to fill its place in the heavenly temple. Upon no useless material does the Master bestow such careful, thorough work. Only His precious stones are polished after the similitude of a palace.—Mrs. E. G. White.