Trials and Tribulations

Have any of you ever read the Bible passage James 1:2-18? The one where we are supposed to consider it a JOY, PURE JOY, whenever we face trials? How weird is that? Does God really expect us to embrace with joy all of our trials? "Hey, Trial! How I've missed you! Come into my waiting open arms and I'll embrace you with joy!" Yeah... Not gonna happen. At least not if your sane, some might say.

But have you ever really thought about it? Trials and tribulation don't just happen. They don't just jump out of nowhere and after their gone and worked through, go away and leave us unchanged. No, they change us! They make us stronger than before. My trials have in fact made me feel so much stronger than I have ever felt in my entire life. And I have been more hungry for Spiritual things than I was in the beginning before all of them came.

The more trials and tribulations come our way, the stronger our faith becomes!

"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."

God doesn't send these trials and tribulations to us to torture us or show us who's boss. No, he sends them to us so that we might become stronger with His help. In the midst of my T & T, I thought "Where is God?" And though I thought those were my worst and hardest months emotionally, when I examine it all Spiritually, I realize that I persevered. All those months of T & T payed off! They weren't there for nothing. It wasn't just some random thing that happened. God will never send me more than I can handle. If He brought me to it, He'll bring me through it.

"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. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do."

So there it is! TRUST IN THE LORD! DO NOT DOUBT! Where is the faith when you doubt? You become anxious. You become doubtful of God's hand in all this. When going through something, know that IN FAITH, He will bring you through it. Don't doubt! Even if it's not from God, He will turn it into something good. You can never go through something unchanged. You can never go through a hardship, saying, "That's didn't change me." Every hardship, EVERY SINGLE ONE, has changed me. It's changed me emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually.

"Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. But the rich should take pride in their humiliation- since they will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching hear and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business."

See that first part? Take PRIDE. I'm not sure how else to interpret this. I'll leave that all to you. :)

"Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him."

Wait a second now... Did he just say we're BLESSED? He has GOT to be kidding! Do any of you feel blessed when you persevere under T & T? I don't. I feel quite the opposite. Someone told me recently that my testimony is just amazing and that it will be such a blessing to some people when shared with them. And I remember one of my first thoughts being, "Yeah, God just blessed the panties right off me when He stuck me in this mess." But honestly... God must love us a lot to entrust so much on us. It's a compliment actually. It's pretty much GOD telling us that we're strong enough. If that's not a compliment, I don't know what is.

"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 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."

Well the words are true and the meaning clear enough. I needn't elaborate on that.

"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."

That is how we should think of T & T's. Gifts. Their not the kind of gifts we like. It's almost like ordering a fashion magazine in the mail and getting one on healthy eating. Sorry, I couldn't think of a better example. But really, though its not the gift we like, it still rewards us in the end with the gift of perseverance. And thought there isn't always a great reward here on earth, be assured that there is one in Heaven.