Todd Johnson
Family Pastor
James 1:2-4
“2 Count it all joy, my brothers,[a] when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
Have you ever gone through a trial in your life where the first thing you thought was how joyful this experience is? I know that “joy” is not the first thing that comes to my mind when I learn of a difficult situation in my life. I usually lean toward crying or yelling and asking God why me? This is an area in my life where the Lord has had to work on me and my attitude.
The Lord pointed out verse 3 to me where it says that these tests will produce steadfastness in my faith. That means to strengthen my faith to be firm and unwavering. The more challenges I face in my life, the stronger and sturdier my faith will become if I choose to lean into God and allow Him to teach me through it. I remember one of the first big trials I faced in my life was when a family member, that I was very close to, told me that she no longer wanted me in her life. Those words were gut-wrenching and I remember weeping for the longest time. The weird thing was that I felt the Lord’s peace cover me and these verses became real to me at that time. I leaned into Him like never before and even though the pain was excruciating at times, His presence was strongly felt in my life.
The Lord desires for us to have a sturdy and unwavering faith. If you are intentionally living for Christ, you will face trials…they are inevitable for followers of Jesus. Will you choose joy in the trials and let it strengthen your faith in Christ? Will you lean into the Lord and let Him carry you and grow your faith? There is no better place than to be in the Lord’s arms because there, you are lacking nothing. He will get you through any trial that life throws at you.