“TRIALS CAN BE GOOD”
Season: The Book of James
Episode 2: “Trials Can Be Good”
Today’s Bible Bite: James 1:2-4
Video Story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn-hLHWwRYY (The Bible Project – James)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kTnrFLqZuc (Douglas Talks – You Can Do It)
“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.” (James 1:2-4, NLT)
No one likes going through hard times, but James tells us to think about trials differently. He says we should see our difficulties as a chance to experience joy, because of the good that come out of them when we respond in the right way. Trials test our faith, which can cause our endurance to grow, and when our stick-to-it-tiveness has fully developed, our faith will be complete and we will be in good condition to serve God, no matter what life throws our way.
Think of it like building muscle…the only way to get stronger than you are today, is by forcing your muscles to work under greater stress. Your muscles won’t like it; you may even be sore from doing more push-ups and sit-ups, cramp after running longer distances or ache from lifting heavier weights, but with a little time and practice, you will develop more muscle and will become stronger.
The same is true of our spiritual body that is true of our physical body. If we want to have a stronger faith than we have today, we need to exercise our faith muscle…and trials are the ‘weights’ we are required to lift. Some people give up when things get tough, just like some people give up when their muscles begin to ache; however, without enough exercise our spiritual faith muscle and our physical muscle grow flabby because they aren’t being used.
The next time something less than pleasant happens, remember, God is giving you an opportunity to grow in your faith…and that is a cause for joy!
Think about it...
• Our muscles don’t grow and can even become flabby when we don’t use them. How do we use our physical muscles? How do we use our spiritual muscles?
• James tells us we shouldn’t try to avoid difficult times because they can have a good purpose. What good can result from experiencing trials?
• Many times, we try to avoid difficulties because they make us uncomfortable or they’re painful, so we give up. James tells us that trials produce endurance…why is that important for a Christian?
• When our faith is strong and circumstances no longer cause us to question God’s goodness and His love for us, James tells us we will no longer need anything. What does that mean?
Prayer: Thank you, God, that you will help us to grow in our faith and thank you, too, that you don’t waste an opportunity to show us how we can learn to be more like Jesus. None of us wants to experience trials, but I thank you that they have a purpose. Help me to develop stick-to-it-tiveness!