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)
Those words are so easy to say, but yet so difficult to perform.....or even believe when you are in the middle of a trial. In this passage, James is encouraging us to stand firm in our faith when bad circumstances have seemingly wrecked our day, our joy or even our life.
The first questions we want to ask ( and James knew this as well) are the old favorites, "why did this happen to me?" And "Is God tempting me?" No. As we see in these verses :
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. (James 1:13-15 NIV)
So be sure to realize that the testing, the trials, the tough situations we find ourselves in....We are usually a part of the equation and usually, if we do a little CSI investigation on the history of how we got to this point, we somehow made a choice that led to the trial. Certainly there are things that fall on us where we truly are a victim. But always remember, God did not cause it and rest assured, He is there to love you unconditionally through it.
Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. (James 1:16-18 NIV)
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