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Friday, June 17, 2016

 

It does not matter who you are, where you are, what you know, or what you have, one thing is for sure, you will suffer hard times in your life. Things might be going well for some of you right now and for others things might not be going so well. For those who are going through a good period, know that it is just a matter of time before you start to have trouble. Your reaction might be to say: but things were going so well, and then I lost my job, my spouse asked for a divorce, I found out my child has a drug problem, the doctor gave me bad news at my annual check up…everything was going well and then! Count on this: you will have trouble in life.

 

Most people see the unavoidable hardships in life as a negative. However, for those who follow Jesus, we are supposed to look at the hardships as one of the most effective tools that God uses to grow and strengthen our faith. Hardships are uncomfortable and yes, we want to be done with them immediately, but remember, your hardships are of great divine value.

 

James the brother of Jesus wrote to a group of Jewish men and women in the New Testament. They were going through extremely difficult times. James reminded them that their trials were an opportunity for God to perfect their faith. For them and for us today, we fail to see our hardships as having any Godly value. For this reason, as soon as things turn bad, we start praying that God would deliver us from the trial. James admonishes his audience by telling them that in the midst of their hardships, they need to revise their prayer.

 

James 1: 5 NIV

 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

 

It is important to understand the context in which this verse was written. James was writing to a group of Jews who had been expelled from the synagogues, ostracized by their communities, and abandoned by their families just because of their faith in Jesus. James tells them that instead of praying for relief from the trial they need to pray for wisdom as they go through the trial. We want out and God wants us to experience the trial. We want God to spare us from the trial and God wants us to gain wisdom as we go through the trial. Why? Because, at the end of every trial, you will have grown stronger and deeper in your faith. The result of every trial will allow you to know and trust God more than any blessing ever will. James says pray for wisdom and God promises to give it abundantly. God wants us to persevere because this will allow us to become mature believers who lack nothing.