What internal state in people are these trials aimed at? They are targeted at the rebellious disposition in people that is incapable of satisfying God. There is much that is impure within people, and much that is hypocritical, and so God subjects them to trials in order to purify them. But if, today, you are able to satisfy Him, then the trials of the future will be a perfection for you. If, today, you are unable to satisfy Him, then trials of the future will tempt you, and you will unwittingly fall down, and at that time you won’t be able to help yourself, for you can’t keep up with God’s work, and are not possessed of real stature. And so, if you wish to be able to stand firm in the future, better satisfy God, and follow Him to the very end, today you must build a strong foundation, you must satisfy God by putting the truth into practice in all things, and be mindful of His will. If you always practice in this way, there will be a foundation within you, and God will inspire in you a heart that loves Him, and He will give you faith. One day, when a trial truly befalls you, you may well suffer some pain, and feel aggrieved to a certain point, and suffer crushing grief, as if you’d died—but your love of God will not change, and will become even deeper. Such are the blessings of God. If you are able to accept all that God says and does today with a heart of obedience, then you will surely be blessed by God, and so you will be someone who is blessed by God, and receives His promise. If, today, you do not practice, when trials befall you one day you will be without faith or a loving heart, and at that time the trial will become temptation; you will be plunged amid Satan’s temptation and will have no means of escape. Today, you may be able to stand firm when a small trial befalls you, but you won’t necessarily be able to stand firm when a major trial befalls you one day. Some people are conceited, and think that they’re near perfect already. If you don’t go deeper at such times, and remain complacent, then you’ll be in danger. Today, God does not do the work of greater trials, in appearance everything seems fine, but when God tries you, you will discover that you are too lacking, for your stature is too small, and you are incapable of enduring great trials. If, today, you do not forge ahead, if you stay in the same place, then when the great wind comes you will fall. You should often look at how small your stature is; only in this way will you make progress. If it is only during trials that you see that your stature is so small, that your willpower is so weak, that too little within you is real, and that you are inadequate for God’s will—and if you only realize these things then, it will be too late.

If you do not know God’s disposition, then you will inevitably fall during trials, because you are unaware of how God makes people perfect, and by what means He makes them perfect, and when God’s trials come upon you and they don’t match your conceptions, you will be unable to stand firm. God’s true love is His entire disposition, and when God’s entire disposition is shown to you, what does this bring to your flesh? When God’s righteous disposition is shown to you, your flesh will inevitably suffer much pain. If you don’t suffer this pain, then you cannot be made perfect by God, nor will you be able to devote true love to God. If God makes you perfect, He will surely show His entire disposition to you. From the time of creation until today, God has never shown His entire disposition—but during the last days He reveals it to this group of people whom He has predestined and selected, and by making people perfect He lays bare His dispositions, through which He makes complete a group of people. Such is God’s true love for people. Experiencing God’s true love for them requires that people endure extreme pain, and pay a high price. Only after this will they be gained by God and be able to give their true love back to God, and only then will God’s heart be satisfied. If people wish to be made perfect by God, and if they wish to do His will, and fully give their true love to God, then they must experience much suffering and many torments from the circumstances, to suffer pain worse than death, ultimately they will be forced to give their true heart back to God. Whether or not someone truly loves God is revealed during hardship and refinement. God purifies people’s love, and this is also only achieved amid hardship and refinement.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Only Loving God Is Truly Believing in God