Wednesday, September 26, 2018

 

Simply stated, we are not good at judging circumstances. We judge things as being bad that end up being good and vice versa. Is it not true that some of the most difficult chapters in our lives ended up being a blessing? Maybe it was losing a job that became a difficult moment in life but that also lead to a better job or even an opportunity to start a business, or meeting a spouse after a difficult break up. Maybe a health issue drew you closer to God.

 

What many Christians fail to understand is that God uses the trials in our lives to mature our faith. True there are times when the trials are a result of our own bad decisions. Then there are the times when God allows the trials to happen. It does not matter why the trial takes place; God wants to use them all to grow our faith and to draw us closer to Him. In the first century, James wrote to a group of Jewish believers who were suffering many trials for having placed their faith in Jesus. As they considered their circumstances, they wondered why things were going so badly for them. James writes them to assure them that the circumstances they considered as bad, was actually God working in their lives to bring about something good.

 

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. James 1:2-3 NIV

 

James wrote to these men and women to encourage them to look at their trials with a different perspective; James encouraged them to consider their trials to be pure joy. The word “consider” comes from the Greek and is a term used primarily in mathematics or in accounting. James essentially is telling them that as they consider or take into account, the trials in their lives, they needed to understand that the result would be pure joy. He is pointing out to them, that they, from their perspective, were viewing their trials as something bad wondering why God did not intervene, however, God saw their trials as a vehicle to do something good, and to grow and mature their faith. It is interesting to note, that God never said the trials would produce happiness, He says they will produce something far better; joy.

 

Happiness is subject to the circumstances around us. When things are going well then we are happy, but if things are not going well, then we are sad. Joy however is a positive emotion that is produced in our heart and is the result of living a life of confidence in God, knowing that He is working all things to our benefit, even the trials. Happiness depends on circumstances whereas joy is subject to God. Joy results from faith that is tested and proven to withstand and persevere even in the most difficult of trials. It is not enough to apply our faith when things are going well, we must also learn to trust God and to live out our faith even when things seem to not be going well.