James 1:2-4 NLT: Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”
Oh my goodness, there is so much going on in this verse, but once you can truly grasp its content, it’s a game changer!
First, consider trials and problems an opportunity for great joy! What!!! Does this mean we are to shout hallelujah praises at the devastating phone call or doctor’s report? Does this mean we throw a party when the ground underneath our feet gives way? No!
Opportunity for great joy is putting our devastation in God’s hands and leaving them there! It’s allowing him the opportunity to make changes in our lives. It’s the chance to evolve within trusting him to take care of you!
When our faith is tested, our trials can and will throw us into a tailspin and 911 prayers! The Lord is always faithful, but often, when his timing and answers aren’t what we might have pictured, imagined, or expected, then what?
What reads next? Our FAITH has an opportunity to grow. Each time we turn to the Lord, and he delivers us, that produces more faith, and so on until the pinnacle day, we reach the “peace that surpasses all understanding.”
Philippians 4:7 ESV: “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
“And when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”
Trust is when we can draw from our spiritual reserves, knowing God has always come through. Knowing God has always been beside you. Knowing God has always supplied your needs. Knowing God will never leave or forsake you, and knowing God has a plan for you. Trials and bumps in the road get so much easier when we realize we never face them alone.
Deuteronomy 31:6 ESV: “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
Philippians 4:19 ESV: “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.“
My God will supply your every need! Imagine needing nothing; now that’s an opportunity for Joy! Thank you, Lord 😌❤️
Sunshine On My Shoulder 