Trials hurt. They stretch us, bend us, twist us, and pressure us as they develop us into the people God would have us to be. A chef in an authentic pizzeria stretches the dough, pounds it, flattens it, rolls it, twirls it, and then cooks it. A pizza can’t become all that a pizza was intended to be until the dough has gone through the necessary process of becoming all that it was made to be. Piling some sausage, sauce, onions, and tomatoes on top of a wad of dough will never make a pizza. Rather, the dough had to be worked before it can be the proper foundation [for] all of the toppings and a delicious meal.
and
[W]henever you run from God, you have to pick up the tab … When you are in God’s will, even if you don’t want to be in God’s will, He will pick up the tab.
and
Even in our rebellion, God will still accomplish His work.
(God’s Unlikely Path to Success by Tony Evans pp 59, 78, 82 (ref))