At one point in the process of forging knives, the craftsmen heat their blade up to a red-hot temperature in the fire, then plunge it into a barrel of oil to rapidly cool it off. They often speak of being nervous about this part of the process as it can often lead to stress fractures or warps in the metal. Why would they do something so dangerous to the metal they’ve been painstakingly hammering out for the past few hours? Because this process hardens the steel so it will be able to hold up to the work we expect a quality knife to do. If they don’t do this process correctly, the blade won’t cut well and will be easily damaged when the knife is later put through challenging tests.
When we go through tough times and our faith is challenged, it is a bit like the craftsman putting their hot knife in the oil. Yes, there is a chance that we’ll end up hurt or damaged in the process, but the reward of a strengthened faith that can withstand whatever this world throws at us is a worthwhile investment. If God were to simply cause us to avoid any trouble or difficulty, our faith would never be tested, and it would be weak and useless. Instead, God allows hardships in our lives that we can learn to trust in Him better, and that’s when we learn to be the kind, patient, hopeful Christians He wants us all to be.