This means suffering doesn’t automatically produce perseverance. Left unprocessed, pain can leave us stuck. But when suffering is met with perseverance, hope begins to take root.

Growth Through Trials, Not In Spite of Them

Science confirms what Scripture has said all along: resilience isn’t something we’re born with—it’s something we build. Our brains adapt and rewire through hardship, a process called neuroplasticity. Each time we push through trials, our minds become stronger and more capable.

We are not stuck.

Suffering isn’t just something to endure—it’s something that, when engaged with, leads to growth. The hardship you face is changing you, shaping you, strengthening you in ways you may not yet see.

Faith and Science Agree

Just as the brain builds resilience through struggle, faith is forged in difficulty. A faith untested is a faith unproven. It is in the pressing, the struggle, and the perseverance that both our minds and our spirits grow stronger.

This is why Paul could say “we rejoice in our sufferings”—not because suffering is easy, but because it is not wasted. Your trials are not meaningless. They are shaping you into who you were meant to be.

Moving Forward: Cultivating Resilience

Instead of seeing trials as something to escape, we can begin to reframe them as the very thing making us stronger. Here’s how:

1️⃣ Be Careful With Labels – Naming your struggles can bring clarity, but don’t let them define you. You are capable of change.

2️⃣ Engage With the Struggle – Instead of fearing hardship, ask: What might this be teaching me? Growth begins when we stop running from our pain and start learning from it.

3️⃣ Find Strength in Others – Healing happens in relationships. Surround yourself with people who encourage, challenge, and walk with you through the fire.

4️⃣ Anchor Yourself in Truth – The world may call you broken, anxious, or weak. But God calls you an overcomer (John 16:33). His promises do not fail.

You were never meant to stay stuck in suffering. Whether through faith or neuroscience, one truth remains: it is through trials that we grow.