James 1:2-4 (NKJV) 2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
None of us likes trials. In fact, not only do we not like them, most of us detest them.
Whether we realize it or not, trials show us what we’re made of. Trials can put pressure on us and squeeze us. And when things get squeezed hard enough, what’s inside of them eventually comes out!
Trials can be a major inconvenience, but most of them never really hurt us or cause us harm. The problem is that there isn’t a single one of us who likes inconveniences.
But as we grow in our faith, we should start to see and understand that many trials can benefit us, if we let them! You’re probably wondering what I’m talking about, so let’s look a little more closely.
When we’re babes in Christ and our faith is young, tender and still very small, we only look at trials through human, natural eyes. We seldom see things beyond that. Trials are messy, a nuisance and an all-around bother to deal with.
But as we grow in Christ, we begin to look beyond the surface of things and start to see that there is usually more to many things than meets the eye. Then, as our understanding in this grows, we will start to see God’s hand at work in the trials that we face.
So if you’re going through a trial today, step back and try to look at it through spiritual eyes… the eyes of a believer, not through natural eyes. Because somewhere in all of the mess and confusion, God is offering you His peace and understanding. And whether we can see it right now or not, there is probably a blessing wrapped in that trial.
So count it all joy, not just those things that are pleasant and easy to take.
Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808
401-315-0902
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