Have you ever considered it to be a joy to face trials? Have you thought about the good that can come from facing challenges? Can you see the good God is working in your life as you persevere through trials and challenges?
We may not mind facing challenges. In fact, many of us will purposely seek out challenges in our lives. We are driven by a good challenge, especially when it is related to our personal interests—when it helps us achieve a goal.
But we don’t typically care for trials. Trials are challenges not related to our interests nor our goals. Often, they are hurdles we must cross or mountains we must climb. They can be obstacles to our goals. They may come about as a result of choices we’ve made. They may be a result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Yet they are to be considered a joy.
James tells us to consider trials a joy. They test our faith, which produces perseverance. Perseverance is one of those traits we want to have, but don’t want to go through trials to achieve. Unfortunately, perseverance doesn’t come about without being tested nor without training ourselves to persevere. Perhaps that is why James says perseverance helps us mature.
Maturity is a goal many of us have and all of us should have. Maturity comes through experiences, many of which are trials and challenges. It is by overcoming trials that we mature in our thinking. It is by learning to do without that we appreciate what we have. It is by having to think through a problem to discern a solution that we achieve maturity. And James tells us as we mature, we lack nothing.
So, we are to consider it joy to face trials, knowing what those trials will produce in our lives. Our joy comes from foreseeing the result of the trial. Knowing the result of the trial can help us persevere through it.
I pray we all consider it joy to face trials. I pray we go through tests of our faith. I pray each of us hold onto our faith as we go through trials and grow in our maturity. Consider trials a joy. Hold onto your faith. Persevere through trials. Become mature. Lack nothing. Trust God.
James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Marty Pressey 