Trials And Joy

My Brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

James 1:2

The Holy Spirit will enlighten us as we read through the Scriptures, as well as in various circumstances and trails that we may face. And although being saved is the greatest thing and highest calling for a human being in the history of the Universe, it is also the most difficult on earth with its ups and downs.

Even so, it is great because it means that Jesus Christ has passed over our sins by 1) shedding His perfect blood to bring us back to life or justifying us, and 2) reconciling us with God so that we inherit eternal life instead of eternal destruction.

As Christians, we need to recognize that we cannot create or deliver ourselves from any circumstance or trial. Because of this fallen world, they will inevitably come. We will be faced with temptations and trials that seek to please the flesh because of our fallen nature.

However, we are called to count it all joy when these various trials come about. James tells us to let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing (See James 1:4).

James is quite aware that Christians have the propensity to attempt to be self-sufficient and reminds us that in the moment we do so, we prove to be double-minded and unstable in all our ways (See James 1:8).

In the heat of our trials we at times begin to expect things from God because we believe, in our ignorance, that we should be able to produce and provide things ourselves—to change the situation or circumstance that we find ourselves in. We believe in the midst of a calamity and/or trial that we can deliver ourselves. Despite any and every circumstance known to man, in complete humility, we are called to be subjected to the wisdom and will of God.

Trials, despite how long and unruly they seem, are the necessary means that God has chosen to sanctify those He loves and cause us to become more Christ-like. Rejoice in your trial and know that God is making you more Christ-like as you chose to rest in Him.

What is impossible with man is possible with God, so rest in Him and count it all joy!