Here is question for you: how are you doing in considering the trials you are presently going through as pure joy?
“My brothers and sisters,” writes the apostle James, “consider it nothing but joy when you fall into all sorts of trials…” James 1:2 (NET)
He goes on to explain that these difficulties test our trust in the Lord, help us learn to stay focused when things are hard, and result in spiritual maturity. But along the way they also help with another critical need we have: they help us see where we are at, that is, they expose to us just how much of God’s Word we have integrated into our lives.
You see, our reactions to nasty stuff that happens to us or around us teach us more about ourselves than any amount of self-reflection can do. We get to see how much of God’s Word is in charge of what is going on inside of us. If we react well in the face of trouble, we have reason to praise God for the progress being made. If we react poorly, it is our opportunity to take a good hard look at what is awry within us and bring it to Christ for his transforming help.
In either case, trials are a win-win situation for us so we do well to welcome them with joy.
