Here we are - the middle of August already! How, in this strange time of COVID with its isolation and lack of normal events, is the time going so fast? I know people say let's get this year over with, but I don't know why 2021 will look any different and I'd just as soon not wish the days of my life away - even strange days that are sometimes really hard to get through. Psalm 90:12 says, "Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts." Let's use our days, even strange days we don't understand, wisely. And let's, hopefully, develop some godly wisdom along the way!
Remember our question this week: How does suffering in a manner that honors and glorifies God change the life of the believer?
And our memory verse this week is one we will "consider" today: "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 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 1:2-4
OBSERVATION
James 1:2-4 "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 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 1:2-4
1 Peter 1:6-7 "You rejoice in this, though now for a short time you have had to struggle in various trials so that the genuineness of your faith--more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire--may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ."
Our memory verses of this week are well known, but how well-practiced? How often do we "consider it all joy" when we are going through the trials of our lives? When we are facing our trials from a totally earthly perspective with no spiritual goals in mind, there is no reason to find joy in them, is there? Trials are hard - trials are what we aim to avoid in life - times of trials are not the fun times we remember. And when we look at the Greek word (peirasmos) that is translated as trials in this passage, we find that it can truly mean various kinds of trials. Strong's Bible Dictionary lists all of these possible meanings for the word peirasmos: "An experiment, attempt, trial, proving; the trial of man's fidelity, integrity, virtue, constancy; an enticement to sin, temptation; an internal temptation to sin as of the temptation by which the devil sought to divert Jesus the Messiah from his divine errand; of the condition of things, or a mental state, by which we are enticed to sin, or to a lapse from the faith and holiness; adversity, affliction, trouble: sent by God and serving to test or prove one's character, faith, holiness; rebellion against God, by which his power and justice are, as it were, put to the proof and challenged to show themselves."
So we can see that the trials James is referring to can mean a multitude of meanings, but they all come down to a testing. Either by means of a temptation or affliction - trials have a purpose and that purpose is the testing of our faith. This is not an earthly perspective at all - this is what changes our view of trials from just something that we are going through that we don't want to be going through, to seeing God's hand right in the middle of our trouble - allowing us to see just what our faith consists of. Faith should, if we are truly grounded in our belief that God is sovereign and will always see us through, keep us going through the trial. And when we've come to the other side, we can look back and see where the faith that allowed us to endure has increased, matured and brought us to a more complete state of understanding of our Father and reflection of His glory.
Peter uses the very same word, peirasmos, in his first epistle, with very similar language to that of James. He was telling the scattered exiles who were facing lots of various trials, that they are able to rejoice in their "short time" of trials --- a short time could be their whole lives, but we have to remember, compared to eternity an earthly life of 100 years is so very relatively short! --- because there was a great result coming out of those trials: the genuineness, the proof of their faith! We can rejoice when we see that we really do rely on God and that He really is who He says He is and He really does what He has said He will do. When our faith is proved genuine, that is the greatest asset that we can acquire here on earth. For it will pass through the fire unharmed (1 Corinthians 3) and go with us into eternity where it will allow us to glorify God forever. We need to welcome trials that prove our faith, for when our faith is proven, it grows stronger and will enable us to greet the next trial with even greater joy!
God does things in a really different way than we would, doesn't He? He is working on us in so many ways - thank Him for His great wisdom in transforming us into people who reflect Him! God is so very wise and so very good to us!
In His Amazing Love,
Janice
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