EquipHer Vol. 27: "The Trenches in Life"Sample

Day 3 –Training in The Trenches

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance." (James 1:2–3, NIV)

Joy? In trials? How can we rejoice when we are tired, discouraged, and under pressure? Yet, this absurd invitation reveals a powerful principle: trials do not come to break us, but to train us.

Trials do test our faith—but through the process of resistance, perseverance is built. Pressure is not a sign of failure, it is the path to strength.

If God allows us to walk through the “trenches,” it is because He trusts us. He sees something in us that maybe we struggle to see ourselves.

The story of Esther is a powerful illustration of this truth. She was a young Jewish woman who became queen in a hostile environment and was forced to hide her identity in order to survive (Esther 2:10). While her people were threatened to be killed (Esther 3:5–6; 3:13), Esther was walking through a “trench.” On the outside, she seemed privileged and living the high life, but on the inside, she was most likely heartbroken and torn; knowing that revealing her origin might cost her life (Esther 4:11).

In that silent trench, caught between a hidden identity and a deadly risk, God was preparing her for a specific time and mission. She was not there by accident. Every day spent in the palace was part of an inner training for a defining moment in her life and the life of Israel. As her uncle Mordecai said to her: “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14, NIV)

That “time” was a trench—a moment of extreme tension and difficulty. But God trusted Esther. He placed her in that trench because He knew He could count on her courage, obedience, and faith. He saw something in her that she most likely did not even know she had.

Her bravery to present herself to the Persian King opened the way for God to move and provide deliverance for the entire nation of Israel (Esther 8:3–17).

God does not waste a single trial. If He has entrusted you with deep trenches, it is because He sees in you the capacity not just to endure, but to grow, bear fruit, and serve others through what you are learning. In faith, difficulty is never a dead end—it is a tool to forge you forward. It is a sign that God considers you trustworthy.

The trenches are not an obstacle to avoid—it is a training ground for those called to make an impact. God trusts you, and the trials you face today are building in you the perseverance and strength you will need for the “time as this” that is ahead.

Reflective Questions:

• How is the “trench” you are in training you? What is God developing in you through this?
• What would change if you started to see this moment not as something to simply survive, but as an assignment God has entrusted to you?

Prayer:
Lord, thank You for entrusting me with trials that reflect Your confidence in me. I no longer want to live through difficult seasons as something to passively endure, but as opportunities to grow, to persevere, and to respond with courage. Build in me a resilient faith, an unshakable hope, and a vision that sees beyond the present moment. Amen.