LEARNING DAILY

 

James 1:2-3, My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials. Knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

 

Correct me if I am wrong. Is James telling you and me to embrace trials, “to count them all joy”? Yikes? I had to think back over the times I had to tell one of my players they could no longer be on the team and I still remember far too often the last loss of the year with my really good basketball team. Who doesn’t remember the major trials causing changes in their life? Yet, I look back and see how God was directing circumstances so good happened and He was blessed because of it. I would call that growth in walking on the narrow way – tough at the time but a blessing in the long run.

 

Have you ever followed your heart into something you just knew God was leading you into, only to find out He wasn’t and things did not turn out the way you expected? I have. Was it a wrong choice or just bad luck? Perhaps God had to do something to get your attention in order to get you moving in His direction. Perhaps He got you to move in His direction in order to grow, to mature in your faith. He never wastes an opportunity to strengthen your walk on the narrow way and to help you grow closer to Him. I am surprised at the use of a democrat’s words but here goes, “You never want a good crisis go to waste!” My point here is God never lets what you and I are going through be wasted. Remember Joseph said to his brothers, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is today, to save many people alive” (Genesis 50:20).

 

Now, I do not get out of bed thinking I sure hope God lays some kind of trial on me today. No, that does not happen. When a trial comes, believe that God is with you and will see you through it and that it will produce some sort of Godly fruit in you – like patience! For that to be produced does not mean I just resolve myself to whatever happens. No, instead you and I need to persevere in faith and hope in the adverse circumstances. Trials are important for our faith to grow. It might be that God is testing us through a trial to see the sincerity of our faith. I am so thankful I did not give up when some of the trials I faced occurred. Instead of quitting I believe there was growth and maturity that occurred. The important thing to remember when facing trials is no where in God’s Word does it say or indicate that He is mad or displeased with us. More than likely, God has seen our faith and He recognizes it. What an opportunity to know He has the confidence in our faith, our commitment to him.

 

 Let me close today with a paragraph from a devotional by Tony Dungy. “As the great philosopher Yogi Berra said, “The game ain’t over until it’s over.” A lot can happen in nine innings of a baseball game, four quarters of football, two periods of basketball, or every day of a lifetime. It’s not about things or troubles, but it is about following your heart, a heart aligned with God, over, under, around, and through any mountain, sea, valley or storm. It’s not about what you can get out of where you are, but what you can put into and do by enduring right where God has planted you.”