Consider it pure joy when facing trials

Katy and I enjoyed a relaxing weekend.

We didn’t have anything to do. Spring break is next week. I pray everyone that gets the week off enjoys the time off and gets to relax some.

It is hard to believe that this school year is almost over. Only nine more weeks and summer will be here.

This week’s Bible verse is James 1:2-4. It says, “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.”

I read a devotional the other day by Dr. Tony Evans called Building Endurance for the Trials of Life that I want to share with you this week.

“I clearly remember watching TV when I was a young boy growing up in Baltimore. From time to time the normal programming would be interrupted by a test of the Emergency Broadcast System. Then I would hear a loud, annoying noise for 30 or 60 seconds. I used to hate those tests because they always seemed to come at the worst time — just when you didn’t want the show to be interrupted. And since there was never any advance warning the test was coming, there was no way you could avoid it. The station just broke in and did its test.

The setbacks of life are like that. They often come with no warning, just the announcement: “This is a test.” There’s often nothing to warn you that the doctor is coming back with a bad report or that your company is downsizing. Life’s setbacks just show up at the most inopportune times.

We see throughout Scripture that trials are an inevitable reality in life, and we read imperatives like this: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds” (James 1:2). Notice the Bible does not say if you encounter trials, but when. Trials are inescapable.

Trials are difficulties we inevitably run into as part of life, not necessarily the problems we create for ourselves. Those kinds of problems are called sin.

So if you’re going through a tough time right now, don’t be surprised. If you have just exited a trial, don’t be shocked when the next one arrives. Trials come with living in an imperfect world.

Trials come in a multitude of colors, shapes and sizes. So, since we can’t avoid them, what should we do with them? How can we turn a setback into a comeback?

The Bible gives us three instructions on how to respond to trials: Recognize the Joy, Ask for Wisdom, and Give God Praise.

God wants you to pass the test - to overcome the trial not only so He can give you the reward, but also so you will learn to love Him more, with Christlike passion and devotion.

He puts you in trials to draw you close, to teach you to cling to Him, to grow you into spiritual adulthood and bring you along in your journey toward your comeback. Let Him finish His work in you.

Heavenly Father, thank You for this opportunity to draw closer to You.

Grant me wisdom and strength to endure the trials I’m facing.

I trust You in all things. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

My prayer for us this week is we will draw closer to Christ daily even in the midst of the trials of this world.

Until next week, make him famous in all that you do!