James 1:12 (NKJV) 12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
Did you know that if we endure trials, God says we are blessed?
This is an interesting statement.
Before we dig into this a little deeper, though, I have to admit that I was not intending to write another devotional about trials. The Coronavirus pandemic is already wreaking havoc in a way that has most people on edge, and most of us are probably tired of hearing about it and talking about it by now.
Nonetheless, God directed me to this scripture as I sat down to write, so it’s best that we proceed and see what it is that He wants us to learn from it!
Despite the fact that the English translation above uses the word “temptation”, the Greek word is actually better translated as “trials”.
So, we are blessed when we successfully endure trials.
Really? Let’s be honest here. Trials never feel much like we are being blessed, do they?
But if we step back and look at the big picture, as God likes us to do so often, it’s not the trial itself that is the blessing so much as what we gain from enduring the trial.
Enduring a trial means that we do whatever is necessary to come through it, not only with victory in our situation, but with our faith still wholly intact, looking fully to God for that victory.
To say that we are blessed means that we are happy. Coming through that trial is definitely something to be happy about. And as we have let God lead us through it, our happiness is more than just a fleshly, fleeting emotion that quickly disappears.
Oh, and the Word also says that if we endure, we are approved, literally meaning that we have passed the test.
Now, how cool is it that even these seemingly-ugly trials that come along hold something good for us?
Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808
401-315-0902
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