Joy In Trials?

Good Morning!! Do we realistically count it all joy today? Does today's statement even make sense? Let us examine these verses more closely and see if we can better understand what James is saying. One of the main reasons for us to read and study the Bible is not just to learn meaning and content,...but also to learn how to apply its principles to our lives. The Holy Spirit teaches us, and opens our minds to understand what God is saying to us personally through His Word. So, what is God saying to us about trials, faith and patience from these verses?

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

In these two verses, there are three main points: one; we will fall into different types of trials,...two; our faith will be tested,...and three; patience will be produced from the testing. Today, we deal with all kinds of trials in our lives, and that's a fact. So the issue is not if we will have them,...it's how we will get through them. When we feel as though the battle is too much and the struggles are too intense, how do we respond? Difficulties with marriage, kids, finances, health and daily issues of life can seem overwhelming at times. But James says to "count it all joy" when these problems come. We can only begin to understand the meaning of this statement if we look at the results in our own lives.

There is not much we can do about avoiding such things in life,
...however, we can decide how we want to get through them.

Holy Spirit, help us to "count it all joy" even before we go through our trials, with the assurance in God's Word, that the end result will benefit our faith. Remind us of the many times, that after a trial has passed, we've been able to recognized the benefits it produced in our life. Amen.

"If we want to be used by the hand of God, then we must learn to live in the Word of God."