Have you ever asked, “Why does God allow this to happen to me, I am a good person?” I have. Often times when things are not going the way we want them to go we ask this question in a sense blaming God for the situation. Sometimes we do not blame God but we ask, “Why doesn’t God fix this situation?” I would submit that we do not understand what is going on in the situation or we do not see that God has a plan for us in the situation we are in at the moment.
So, am I asking the wrong question when I am having difficulties? Should I be asking, “What is God trying to do for me in this difficult time?” James 1:2-4 says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (ESV) I see a great deal of wisdom from James. He starts out and tells me to count, some translations use consider. These words imply that I am to logically evaluate what is going on at the time of my trial and to be joyful. Wait a minute James say, I am supposed to be joyful in the midst of a trial. But I am not. I am sometimes angry, disappointed, argumentative, hurting, anguishing, defiant, discouraged, depressed, hopeless, or all of the above and maybe other emotions.
It is important also that I notice that James does not say that I am being tested but rather my faith is being tested. I do not know about you but in these types of situations I do not feel like my faith is being tested but rather I am the one being tested. However, it is not about what I feel in the moment but rather what does God’s Word tell me that is true
Thankfully, James does not stop there. He gives me a reason for me to be joyful. He tells me that God uses my circumstances for my benefit. He tells as I endure my trials that these trials will produce in me steadfastness. So, in other words trials hone me. They make me stronger. They teach me endurance. In my case my trials drew me back into fellowship with God.
James continues to tells me that if I let steadfastness have its full affect. I will be perfect, complete, and lacking in nothing. I do not know about you but I would really like to be perfect, complete, and lacking in nothing. Knowing however, that it is impossible for me to achieve any of those things here on earth. I do understand that because I am in Christ, I am a new creation and God sees me as all of those things. I choose to hope that when I am in heaven with Jesus that I will be all of those things.
Perhaps, together we can start asking a different question when we face difficulties. Will you join me in asking, “What is God trying to perfect in me?” In doing so, I believe we will have hope and joy in the midst of our everyday trials whether they are tiny or gigantic. Understanding that Jesus is the only source of true hope. The death of Jesus Christ on the cross satisfied the penalty for my sins and yours as well. It satisfied all my sins from the past, in the present and in the future. My penalty and yours was satisfied on the cross by the death of Jesus, God’s greatest act of love and wrath, who became sin for me and you. It was also God’s greatest act of faithfulness because “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 (ESV) Because wisdom shows us, we need to believe in Jesus. I hope that you join me in helping others to choose Jesus.
If you have not read my previous blogs you can find them here.
You can find my book, Hope Amid Hopelessness: Our Abba Father Provides a Way Through Mental Illness here.
eBook or Audiobook versions can be found at Westbow Press or Christianbook.com at Amazon or Google
