"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds..." God says in the book of James (James 1.2).
Worldly wisdom teaches us to respond to the above statement, "How absurd! That's just pie-in-the-sky, wishful thinking! Talk about putting a positive spin on a lousy day!"
The Christian however, James tells us, is to understand personal trials as one of God's means for perfecting or completing our lives and faith - so that we will lack nothing!
The great Baptist preacher Charles H. Spurgeon wrote about his trials of depression saying, "It would be a very sharp and trying experience to me to think that I have an affliction which God never sent me, that the bitter cup was never filled by his hand, that my trials were never measured out by him, nor sent to me by his arrangement of their weight and quantity."
God pleads with us to endure the trial. But how?
The Christian however, James tells us, is to understand personal trials as one of God's means for perfecting or completing our lives and faith - so that we will lack nothing!
The great Baptist preacher Charles H. Spurgeon wrote about his trials of depression saying, "It would be a very sharp and trying experience to me to think that I have an affliction which God never sent me, that the bitter cup was never filled by his hand, that my trials were never measured out by him, nor sent to me by his arrangement of their weight and quantity."
God pleads with us to endure the trial. But how?
1. Seek God's wisdom (James 1.5-8). Wisdom in the Bible is practical insight with spiritual implications. You are to ask God for wisdom to see how he intends to shape your life through the trial. Do you need to learn patience? Love? Have a hard edge in your personality softened? Seek God's wisdom for endurance, strength, and courage.
2. Remember your place before God (James 1.9-11). In Christ, the poor are not so poor and the rich are not so rich. In Christ, the poor have far more than their bank accounts, closets, cupboards, and driveways reveal. The poor have the presence of the living God abiding with them. In their humility they are exalted. In Christ, the rich are measured by more than the sum of their possessions, trophies, and accomplishments. The rich are to honor God as provider and not sink into the self-made illusion. Trials help the rich keep their feet on earth. In Christ, God has begun a good work in you and He will be faithful to complete it.
3. Think about the blessing (James 1.12). God promises to complete you in this life and to prepare you for the ultimate blessing - life in heaven in the full presence of God.
It's your choice how you allow God to use trials in your life. You can run, hide, and try to conquer them. Or, you can choose to "let endurance have its perfect result..." (James 1.4a) by seeking God's wisdom to move through the trial so that your wholeness will be certain.
My beloved, choose God!
Brice
2. Remember your place before God (James 1.9-11). In Christ, the poor are not so poor and the rich are not so rich. In Christ, the poor have far more than their bank accounts, closets, cupboards, and driveways reveal. The poor have the presence of the living God abiding with them. In their humility they are exalted. In Christ, the rich are measured by more than the sum of their possessions, trophies, and accomplishments. The rich are to honor God as provider and not sink into the self-made illusion. Trials help the rich keep their feet on earth. In Christ, God has begun a good work in you and He will be faithful to complete it.
3. Think about the blessing (James 1.12). God promises to complete you in this life and to prepare you for the ultimate blessing - life in heaven in the full presence of God.
It's your choice how you allow God to use trials in your life. You can run, hide, and try to conquer them. Or, you can choose to "let endurance have its perfect result..." (James 1.4a) by seeking God's wisdom to move through the trial so that your wholeness will be certain.
My beloved, choose God!
Brice
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