No one likes adversity or trouble. The world has a tendency to run from it; however, as believers we embrace it. Painful times may not be enjoyable, but they mature us and purify our trust in God like nothing else can. They determine whether our faith is genuine. When we go through something, grace teaches us to completely rely on God. Peter, Paul, and Abraham all had their faith put on trial; the result was that they learned to depend on God, not on their own works. When we learn to do the same, we grow in spiritual maturity.