Joy in the Midst of
Trials
James 1:1-18English Standard Version (ESV)
Greeting
1 James, a servant[a] of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion:
Greetings.
Testing of Your Faith
2 Count it all joy, my
brothers,[b] when you meet trials of
various kinds, 3 for you know that the
testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness
have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
5 If any of you lacks
wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it
will be given him. 6 But let him ask in
faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that
is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not
suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded
man, unstable in all his ways.
9 Let the lowly brother
boast in his exaltation, 10 and the rich in his
humiliation, because like a flower of the grass[c] he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with
its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty
perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
12 Blessed is the man who
remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive
the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. 13 Let no one say when he
is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil,
and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is
tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has
conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth
death.
16 Do not be deceived, my
beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift and
every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with
whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.[d] 18 Of his own will he
brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits
of his creatures.
There
are so many trials in this world, so many hurts, and so much heartache. We all have something that has caused us
pain. Now it doesn’t take much to find
someone enduring more pain than ourselves, yet our own pain is tough
enough. Our pain is more than we can
endure, but it is not too much for our Lord.
When we remain faithful to Him, we will find strength beyond what we
thought that we had. When we realize
that strength we realize the joy that comes through suffering.
As
I write this I can think of a number of people, dear to me, who are going
through trials right now. They are
fighting cancer, death of a loved one, an unborn child who is struggling for
life, and separation from loved ones. I find it difficult to know and understand
what each of them must be going through, and the pain that it causes. Yet, I know that each of them have a faith in
the Lord and this scripture tells us that although they go through these
trials, they are in the process of producing an amazing crop for harvest. Someday we will all realize that our trials
were all worth the heartbreak and pain that we experienced. Waiting is difficult but it will be well
worth it in the end.
So,
as you endure, remember there can be joy in the midst of heartache. Seek Him and know that He brings light in the
midst of darkness. Put your faith in Him
and He will give you strength to find joy in the midst of trials.
Seeking
Him with all my heart,
Sheila
No comments:
Post a Comment