The Value of Trials

James wrote this letter to encourage and give practical advice to Jewish Christians who had been dispersed by persecution.

We're encouraged to respond to trials as positive things...almost as if we should even welcome them since they are opportunities to test our faith. Most people don't enjoy tests but tests do serve some valuable purposes. They reveal strengths and weaknesses. They demonstrate what we know and what we do not know, and they teach us how to apply knowledge. Our faith is tested by how we respond to trials (conflicts, sufferings, troubles, difficulties). It will show who we really are and what we really believe. It will show whether our faith is strong or weak, genuine or fake. 

Perseverance/patience/endurance is the fruit proven by the testing of our faith. This passage in James reminds me of Mark 4: 16-17, "Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the Word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the Word, they quickly fall away." True saving faith will stand steadfast under pressure and endure to the end...come what may! "Mind and heart and character are bettered by the endurance of affliction." (Alexander Smellie)

"Count it all joy/consider it pure joy"!
Trials are unpleasant but they are great opportunities to witness how God works in our lives, for our lives, and through our lives. We can have joy by focusing on the value of trials in our lives. Trials authenticate our faith, develop perseverance, strengthen us/our faith, draw us closer to God/make us depend on God more, glorify God as He sustains us through our trials, help us learn lessons that we need to learn, and enable us to encourage and comfort others who may experience similar trials. Don't just go through trials; grow through trials. Consider your trials as teaching lessons to help you grow in faith, endurance, perseverance, and Christlikeness. The result/reward for passing the testing of our faith and persevering includes spiritual maturity, completion, not lacking anything = complete contentment/ wholesomeness.

One thing that helps me during trials is to focus on the Author and Finisher of our Faith. "Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him Who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." (Hebrews 12:1b-3) Such a beautiful and powerful example to help us endure our trials! 

Trials remind us that our joy and contentment are not found in the riches of this world, but in the riches of God's grace! 

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for Your beautiful and faithful promises! I'm so grateful that You are with me always, comforting me, guiding me, watching over me, and carrying me through every trial. Please give me the wisdom, courage, and strength, I need to face each challenge. Please help me persevere, grow in my faith, and find joy in You through any storms. May I honor and glorify You in everything I say and do, including how I respond to trials! In Jesus's Name, I pray. Amen.

Pray with Boldness and Confidence

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet He did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:15-16)

Jesus Christ is our merciful and faithful High Priest Who has empathy for our weaknesses since Christ incarnate was tempted just as we are. In His humanity, Christ was familiar with our needs, temptations, and problems. Satan tempted Him in the wilderness but He didn't succumb to the temptation; He did not sin. He overcame each temptation with God's Word. We don't have to sin when facing temptations, either. Christ understands what we're going through and He cares. He is able to help us. "Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted." (Hebrews 2:18) "The Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one." (2 Thessalonians 3:3) God is faithful to provide a way out when we're facing temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13). We just need to take it. 

Jesus Christ is also our Advocate (1 John 2:1), the Best Defense Attorney in the universe, who is always interceding for us. Because of Christ's atonement for the sins of the people, God's throne of grace is always accessible to us. Because of Christ (and His righteousness imputed upon us, we have a permanent, lifetime VIP pass/access to the throne of God. How awesome it is! We can now enter boldly into the presence of God with our petitions. Pray with boldness and confidence. Pray with humility and reverent submission. We can pour our hearts out to our Heavenly Father at His throne of grace (this is not a throne of justice or judgment) and receive His mercy and grace to help us in time of need. I believe we are continually in need of God's grace and mercy (undeserved favor and pardon); that's why we are to pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Need strength to resist temptation? Pray. Need relief from affliction? Pray. Need wisdom and discernment? Pray. Need any help? Pray. 

Pray first and pray most. Let's take full advantage of this amazing privilege God has given us! Even though we know His will prevails and He already knows all our needs, God desires that we come to Him in prayer because it's a relationship thing. "The purpose of prayer is that we get a hold of God, not of the answer." (Oswald Chambers) He wants us to rely on Him, look to Him for fresh supplies of grace & mercy to sustain us, strengthen us, and keep us to the end, and keep our hearts and mind focused on Him...on His purpose.  We find shelter, rest, comfort, strength, joy, peace, encouragement, and assurance in sweet communion with our Father. Our attitude regarding praying should always be "not my will, but Yours be done" (Luke 22:42b). Praying draws us closer to God, and through prayer, God molds our heart's desires and our thoughts to be like His. Let us be thankful that God's answers are always wiser than our prayers!

"Prayer does not take our trials away--but it puts our life into the hands of God--so that in His keeping, we shall be kept from harm while we pass through our trials. It brings God's grace into our heart--to preserve us from falling into sin; and God's strength into our life--that we may be victorious over our enemies. Not to pray as we go into the day's dangers and trials--is to meet them without the help of Christ, and surely to suffer hurt, and possibly to fall into sin!" (J.R. Miller)

"Prayer should be...constant, fervent, believing, hopeful, and incessant. God loves it, Satan hates it, and every true Christian values it. True prayer is always necessary, profitable and acceptable to God." (James Smith)

"Be thou content to leave thy prayer in His hands, Who knows when to give, and how to give, and what to give, and what to withhold." (Charles H. Spurgeon)

Prayer: Abba Father, I'm so thankful that I can come to You anytime, anywhere and tell you about anything. I'm so glad that You never get tired of listening to my prayers and that You're always available. Please continue to transform my heart and mind, my desires and will to be like Yours. Thank You for being my Refuge, Strength, and Ever-present Help in time of need! Thank You for Your inexhaustible grace and mercy in my life! Please enable me to overcome any temptation and emerge from any trials victorious. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen. 

God Is the Strength of My Heart and My Portion Forever

I called Psalm 73 "Envy Buster Psalm" :). It's easy to get discouraged when we see how unfair life seems....we see wicked people prosper and go unpunished while some godly people have to suffer. We might even get jealous when those who dishonor and disobey God are successful, rich, healthy, happy, and everything seems to go their way. Yet those who obey and honor God struggle in so many ways. But when we spend time with God, worshipping Him and reflecting upon Him and His attributes, things are put in proper perspective. We know how the story ends. There will be no more sufferings for us in Heaven but there will be unending suffering for those without Christ...in Hell. We understand the doom & final destiny of the wicked and the promised destiny & benefits of those who trust in God. God will take us into glory. Here on earth, He gives us His presence, guidance, strength, courage, comfort, and so much more.

Our flesh/body fails by age, exhaustion, sickness, and death. Our heart fails by being discouraged, being sorrowful, being fearful, falling into temptation, sinning, doubting, worrying, envying, etc. But God never fails us. He is the strength of our heart and our portion forever. We are weak but He is strong. If we are truly convinced that God is the Strength of our heart and portion forever, we will not envy those "whose portion in life is of the world" (Psalm 17:14) God is the Source of our life, joy, love, hope, peace, and comfort. He knows and meets our needs. God alone is sufficient; we lack nothing.

We all have heard the popular saying, "Follow your heart." This advice is neither Biblical nor wise. "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9) We cannot rely on our heart but we can confidently rely on God and His Word (which reveals His heart, character, and will). If you want to follow your heart, first make sure that your heart follows God's heart.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, it is indeed good to be near You and to be loved by You! Thank You for being my Refuge and Strength! Thank You for being more than enough to meet all my needs. Please help me to seek You first, love You most, trust You always, and find my peace, joy, contentment, comfort, courage, wisdom, and strength in You alone. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.




 

No More Death, Sorrow, Crying, Pain

"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (Revelation 21:4)

There's no sin in Heaven; therefore, there will be no death, sorrow, mourning, crying, or pain. What a beautiful promise and blessed assurance! All things will be made new. There will be no more sickness or suffering of any kind, either. There will be no causes or reasons for sorrow or pain. Death, sorrow, grief, pain, and afflictions have been all a part of this life journey since Adam and Eve sinned. Thankfully, those in Christ can look forward to a new Heaven and a new earth where all these will end. It's so comforting to know what awaits us for eternity. We shall live forever with Christ in Heaven, filled with everlasting joy. Our body will be raised glorious and incorruptible. We will also be united with our Christian families and friends. Without this blessed hope, grief would be unbearable.

 

God's Got Our Back

Trials and troubles come to every one of us sooner or later. “All people--all lives--are either in a crisis, coming out of a crisis, or headed for a crisis.” (Andy Andrews) For us Christ's followers, take heart; God's got our back. He Who loves us is faithful, merciful, and able to uphold, sustain, and comfort us through it all. Paul says these verses with confidence because he personally experienced God's power through his own sufferings. When I was at a very low point in my life, these beautiful, uplifting verses gave me hope and encouragement. 

Even when we are hard pressed on every side (feeling overwhelmed), we are not crushed/defeated because God delivers us (2 Corinthians 1:8-10); He is our Protector/Defender/Deliverer. Even when we are perplexed (confused, clueless about what's going on or what to do, feeling anxious and helpless), we are never in despair because our hope is in God alone and He is our Provider. Even when we're persecuted (harassed/oppressed because of our faith), we are never abandoned because God never leaves us nor forsakes us; He is always with us. Even when we're struck down (feeling completely wiped out), we cannot be destroyed because Christ lives in us and we live eternally with Him. The Holy Spirit is powerfully working within us; He will strengthen us and help us get back up when we're struck down. "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." (Exodus 14:14) "He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me." (2 Corinthians 12:9)  

Trials are unpleasant but they are great opportunities to witness how God works in our lives, for our lives, and through our lives. "Let every trial teach me more of Thy peace, more of Thy love." (Valley of Vision) Don't just go through trials, grow through trials. Ask God what He wants you to learn. Use trials as stepping stones to grow in faith, endurance, perseverance, and Christlikeness.

I love how Paul ends this chapter with such a comforting encouragement, directing our focus to an eternal perspective: "Because we know that the One who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to Himself. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:14-18)

Trials remind us that our joy and contentment are not found in the riches of this world, but in the riches of God's grace! 

Prayer: Thank You, Abba Father, for carrying me and comforting me through all my trials! Thank You for Your presence, power, protection, and provision! Please use me to be a blessing and encouragement to those who are going through afflictions. Please show me how I can help them stay strong in their faith and be emboldened to cope with any challenges. Please enable them and me to trust and rest in You completely, even in the fiercest storms of life. In Jesus's Name, I pray. Amen.

Speak Truthfully

"The Lord detests lying lips, but He delights in people who are trustworthy." (Proverbs 12:22)
"You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor." (Exodus 20:16)
"Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices." (Colossians 3:9)

God hates falsehood, lies, and lying. What we say and how we say reflect our hearts and character. They reveal our honesty, integrity, and trustworthiness or lack thereof. If you truly love God, you will love truth and abhor lies. If you love your neighbors as yourselves, you will speak truthfully to them. As a new creation in Christ, you and I are to lay aside every form of falsehood, lies, dishonesty, and deception (including white lies, cover-up lies, half-truth, exaggeration, embellishment, empty promises, pretense, cheating on your income tax forms, keeping silent when others assume something about you that's not true but you'd like them to think so about you, keeping silent when the clerk at the store or restaurant makes a mistake to your advantage, etc.) When we speak truth, we're like our Heavenly Father, but when we speak lies, we're like Satan, Father of lies. 

I used to lie and did not feel bad about it; I justified that I didn't hurt anybody. But after I completely surrendered my life to Christ and resolved to live for Him, not self, I can no longer lie and I never want to lie. I also feel convicted by the Holy Spirit immediately if I begin to embellish the truth. How serious is lying? Take a look at these Scriptures. "Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood/lying." (Revelation 22:15) "You destroy those who tell lies. The bloodthirsty and deceitful You, Lord, detest." (Psalm 5:6)

Here Paul speaks of the members of the spiritual body of Christ. It's bad enough when non-Christians lie to us but it hurts even more when a brother or sister in Christ lies to us. Lying destroys testimony and credibility. Lying destroys trust and relationship. Let us be truthful to one another; we're members of one body. “Let not the eye lie to the foot, nor the foot to the eye. If there be a deep pit, and its mouth covered with reeds shall present to the eye the appearance of solid ground, will not the eye use the foot to ascertain whether it is hollow underneath, or whether it is firm and resists? Will the foot tell a lie, and not the truth as it is? And what again if the eye were to spy a serpent or a wild beast, will it lie to the foot?” (Chrysostom)

“It is better to be divided by truth than to be united in error. It is better to speak the truth that hurts and then heals, than falsehood that comforts and then kills. It is not LOVE and it is not friendship if we fail to declare the whole counsel of God...It’s better to stand alone with the truth than to be wrong with a multitude.” (Adrian Rogers) If you see a brother or sister in Christ living in sin or believing in false teaching but you don't say anything to him/her or don't try to turn them from the error of their way, that's not love. Pray for them and pray for God's wisdom and guidance to show you how to bring them back. Speak the truth in love and with grace, respect, and gentleness but by all means, speak God's truth! Don't ever sacrifice the truth on the altar of "grace", "peace", political correctness, or fear of being labeled "judgmental" or narrow-minded or preachy. Don't ever minimize the seriousness of sin (our need for repentance). If you truly love them, you'll care about their spiritual well-being/the condition of their soul and you'll do all you can to rescue them. 

Prayer: "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." (Psalm 19:14) May Your truth and love govern my attitudes, speech, and conduct always!