A cross to bear

I started reading "In God's Underground," by Richard Wurmbrand, at the suggestion of my parents. And so far, it's been a very interesting story of Wurmbrand, who was a pastor arrested in Romania during the communist regime.

I'm not very far into the book, because my mom said that at some parts it gets difficult to even read about the hardship that he endures. I have read some harrowing tales of torture so far, but I'm not even a quarter of the way through.

However, one sentence has stuck with me so far. Wurmbrand wrote that when life was going well, he and his wife prayed for a cross to bear. They wanted something to test their faith. Then he was arrested.

I was kind of shocked and confused as to why Wurmbrand and his wife would ever ask God for a challenge. If he had blessed them with good times, even when bad was going on around them, why wouldn't they want to keep it that way? Shouldn't they have been thankful for what they were given and not complained that they weren't being tested enough?

To me, it's almost like a slap in the face of God.

As I read, I understand more about what Wurmbrand and his wife were asking for. It's not that they wanted hard times. However, they realized that sometimes God reveals himself the most and that we can have the greatest relationship with him during those trials. Wurmbrand said that Christians can be sure that their actually believers when their faith is tested.

Although I understand his intentions, I'm still not sure about praying for a test. My life is going really well right now, and I think I would be terrified to ask God for a cross to bear.

But maybe that's just because I don't know if I would be able to handle it.