The Blog

This deep dive is based on the 2025 Mother’s Day sermon preached by Pastor Sam Merigala at Grace Gospel Church, a Telugu-English Indian Christian community in Bear, Delaware. The message explores why many of God’s strongest women seem to face the hardest trials—and how these painful seasons often carry a deeper purpose rooted in faith, calling, and divine preparation.

The sermon explores the idea that the women who bear significant weight and burdens and who are seemingly “destined for greatness” often face intense adversity. However, this is presented not as a random occurrence or misfortune, but as having a deeper truth and a divine purpose.

Trials as a Calling and Purpose, Not Punishment

A key concept is that these trials are not a curse but a calling. They are seen as an opportunity for God’s power to be revealed in unique ways. The sermon explicitly state that God does not allow people to go through pain for nothing; His purpose is always higher than human understanding. Trials are not viewed as punishment or signs of God’s absence or disfavor, but rather as an essential part of God’s divine plan for their lives. These battles are not random events but are deeply purposeful and divine in nature.

How Trials Shape and Prepare Strong Women

The sermon details the various ways trials serve God’s purpose in the lives of strong women:

• Molding and Shaping: Trials are the process by which God molds faithful women and shapes them into the women He has called them to be.
• Testing Faith: It is through these struggles that faith is tested and stretched to its limits.
• Refining Character: Adversity refines character. Just as gold is purified through heat, women are refined in the fire of trials.
• Building Strength: Struggles build strength, particularly spiritual strength.
• Increasing Reliance on God: Difficult moments teach women to lean on God’s strength rather than their own.
• Preparing for a Greater Purpose: Trials are preparation for something greater than they could ever imagine. God prepares them to fulfill their unique calling and purpose.
• Drawing Closer to God: Sometimes suffering is a process by which God draws us closer to Him.
• Shaping into Vessels: They are being shaped into the vessels God desires them to be, vessels of honor and vessels of God’s glory.

The Nature of True Strength: Faith in Adversity

The sermon emphasize that the strength God seeks in women is not just physical strength or how they appear to others. True strength is found in how they stand in faith when everything around them seems to crumble. It is the woman who faces loss, disappointment, and heartache and still chooses to trust God who is considered the strongest. This strength is born in unseen moments. God uses pain to develop the kind of faith that can “move mountains”.

This spiritual strength is not self-reliance. The woman standing strong in trial relies on the grace and strength that only God can provide. Pastor Sam quotes 2 Corinthians 12:9, stating, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”. This highlights the idea that God’s power is made perfect in our weakest moments. Strength of faith is God-given, not from willpower or determination alone. It comes from knowing God is with them and from a deep, abiding faith in Him.

Biblical Examples Illustrating the Purpose of Trials

The sermon reference several biblical women whose lives illustrate this theme:

• Esther: An orphan raised in captivity, whose life was marked by challenges. Hardships shaped her into the woman who would save her people from destruction. Her strength was her willingness to risk her life, trusting God’s plan.
• Deborah: Rose to be a leader and judge in a time when men were afraid.
• Hannah: Faced the pain of barrenness, but her sorrow and fervent prayer led to the birth of Samuel. Her trial taught her to trust God in a deeper way.
• Mary (mother of Jesus): An unmarried young woman who faced scandal, public shame, and constant hardship throughout her life with Jesus. Her unwavering faith and obedience prepared her to be part of God’s most significant plan.
• Sarah: Struggled with infertility for years, testing her faith. Her waiting period refined her faith and prepared her to be the mother of a nation through Isaac.
• Ruth: Experienced tremendous loss (widowed, foreign land) but chose loyalty and faith in God. Her perseverance through hardship led to her marriage to Boaz and becoming part of the lineage of King David and Jesus. Her story reveals resilience, perseverance, and commitment to God.
• The woman with the issue of blood: Suffered for 12 years with physical pain and social isolation. Her desperate faith to reach out to Jesus was her strength and led to her miracle.

These stories show that God often chooses women who are willing to stand in faith despite the odds, and that their struggles were not signs of abandonment but part of God’s preparation for their unique roles.

Victory and Transformation Through Perseverance

The sermon state that the hardest battles do not end in defeat but in victory, achieved through perseverance. Quoting Romans 5:3-4, pastor Sam explain that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character, and character produces hope. Persevering through trials develops character and leads to a deeper understanding of God’s love and purpose. The victory may not match worldly expectations but is an eternal victory. Women are encouraged that victory is coming and the “crown of glory” awaits those who persevere. These trials, while difficult, are stepping stones to greater strength, character, and understanding of God’s will.

Reflecting God’s Glory and Presence

Trials are described as not a sign of God’s absence, but of His presence. He is with them every step. Through their struggles, His glory will shine. Women are seen as vessels of God’s glory, and trials prepare them to display this glory to the world. God’s glory shines brightest in the midst of suffering and weakness.

Spiritual Warfare

Pastor Sam introduce another dimension, stating that God’s strongest women are called to be warriors in the spiritual realm. Their struggles are not solely physical or emotional but represent a deeper spiritual battle against the forces of evil. Quoting Ephesians 6:12, pastor Sam notes that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces. Spiritually strong women are often under intense attack because they are vessels through which God’s purposes advance. These struggles are seen as equipping women with the armor of God and strength to fight, preparing them to be powerful instruments in God’s hands.

In conclusion, through the sermon pastor Sam argues that God’s strongest women face the hardest battles because these trials are not arbitrary misfortunes but purposeful divine processes. They are the means by which God tests faith, refines character, builds strength, increases reliance on Him, and prepares women for their unique calling and for greater purposes. This process of enduring hardship through faith is described as transformative, shaping them into the women God intended them to be, enabling them to persevere, achieve victory, reflect God’s glory, and act as warriors in the spiritual realm. Women who have gone through these fires are presented as reflections of God’s power and grace, and pastor Sam urge other believers to honor them.

Explore & Connect

▶️ Watch the full sermon on YouTube (spoken in English and Telugu)

🎧 Listen to the podcast: [YouTube] | [Spotify]

🙏🏻 Need prayer or want to connect? Visit our Connect Page »