"Call to me and I will answer you, and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. " Jeremiah 33:3

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

"Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials." James 1:2 NASB

For many years I read today's title scripture and struggled to understand what it was all about. How was I supposed to react joyfully in a trial or test? Was I just supposed to suck it up and pretend? That is in fact what I tried to do but I don't think I fooled anybody, least of all the Lord.  Next I asked God to show me how I could ever find joy in trials. He began to open my eyes to the reason behind the trials that believers go through. I discovered that the godly men of the Bible all suffered many trials even when they were in the perfect will of God. Moses, David, Joseph, Job, Jeremiah, and in the New Testament, Paul the apostle and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Discovering that God was the One that was in control of my life and my trials truly transformed my thinking.  God does everything for a good purpose in my life and all His children. There is a purpose, they are not random, here are just a few of the purposes.

To Test Our Obedience
"...There He made for them a statute and regulation, and there He tested them. And He said, "If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you..." Exodus 15:25-26

That We Might Fear Him Alone and Sin Not
"Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin."  Exodus 20:20

To Reveal Our Hearts
"Even in the matter of the envoys of the rulers of Babylon, who sent to him to inquire of the wonder that had happened in the land, God left him alone only to test him, that He might know all that was in his heart."  2 Chronicles 32:31

To Humble Us To Do Good For Us
"In the wilderness He fed you manna which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do good for you in the end." Deuteronomy 8:16

Produces Endurance
"Knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." James 1:3-4


For God's Purposes, God's Glory
"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren."  Romans 8:28-29

Waiting Is A Trial That Strengthens
"Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary."  Isaiah 40:31

Waiting Strengthens Our  Faith
"Yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unvelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform." Romans 4:20-21

"Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come." 1 Corinthians 10:11

Everything that touches your life as a believer in Jesus Christ, is custom designed by the One that created you, and you can trust that He knows exactly what He is doing in your life. He loves you completely and He will use every pain, every tear, every sorrow for good in the end. And knowing that we can count it all joy...

2 comments:

  1. Great post!
    is there a way to send you an email? :)

    Emily McClung

    ReplyDelete