Hymns about Trials

Trials are the proving seasons through which God refines the faith of His people. Scripture teaches that the trying of your faith worketh patience, and that no strange thing happens to the church when she suffers. Hymns of trials give honest language for sorrow while refusing the counsel of despair. They look to the God of all comfort, who comforteth us in all our tribulation and teacheth us to comfort others.

Biblical realism about suffering does not deny joy; it locates joy in hope. Believers are not surprised by the fiery trial, yet they cast their care upon Him who careth for them. Hymnody in this field often speaks of tears, waiting, endurance, and the nearness of the Shepherd in the valley. It may also anticipate deliverance without dictating its timing or denying present grief.

These songs are fitting in hospital rooms, funerals, counseling seasons, and congregational prayers after loss. They also belong in ordinary worship, lest the church sing only of fair weather. In private devotion they permit lament that still ends in trust, following the pattern of many psalms.

Trials are not the whole of the Christian story, but they are part of the way home. Let these hymns accompany the afflicted with truth and tenderness, pointing beyond the night to the morning when God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.