Trouble comes...
| 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. (James1:2-4) |
He doesn't say "Consider it pure joy IF you face trials..."
He says "Consider it pure joy WHEN you face trials..."
That's the thing about a broken world: - It's broken.
And in a broken world, broken things happen.
And so trouble comes and trouble is a trial.
Trouble tests our faith, it stretches our endurance and challenges our faithfulness.
But James doesn't leave the news at this depressing point...
Although trials and trouble can and should be expected, God is at work.
If we face our trials, He will help us to become stronger.
Specifically, trials faced and endured develop perseverance.
And the ability to persevere is the sign of someone who is mature and complete in their faith.
Over the years I have been fascinated at some of the "super spiritual" people I have met who absolutely fall apart when a bit of trouble comes their way while I observe some of the "quiet saints" who don't flash their spirituality around but remain calm, gracious, loving and faithful even when they are going through serious trouble.
While God is not the author of trouble and heartache, He is at work in our pain and struggle if we let Him.
And so James invites us to rejoice when trouble comes.
We're not being masochistic, we're not rejoicing in the suffering, we're rejoicing in the fact that God can and will hold us in our suffering and we'll learn to persevere, becoming mature and complete.
