Profiting from trials
James 1:2-3 "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall in various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing."
The admonition at the beginning of the Book of James is 'let patience have its perfect work.
Trials. Tribulation. Troubles. Joy. Sometimes as we read Scripture, it may seem at first glance that the words and concepts are contradictory. How can we laugh in the face of adversity and how can we rejoice when everything seems to be going against us?
In Strong's Concordance we find the definition of 'joy' to be 'calm delight'. So that means that James is telling us that even in times of trial, we can have calm delight. It's not an easy task, but our Lord and Friend promises He will never give us something we are not able to overcome, with His help.
The 'calm delight' we have in difficult times comes from knowing that no matter what happens, our Heavenly Father never changes. He is Lord of heaven and earth. He is our Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, which means He is the God of the middle.
When our Lord and Friend is on the throne of our lives, He can bring everything into order; and give us peace that passes understanding. Being in a seated position signifies rest and confidence. When Father God is seated on the throne of our hearts, we can be at rest, trusting that He is well able to work all things together for our good.
As we learn to embrace trials with 'calm delight', knowing that whatever comes our way, successes and failures, we are being conformed to the image of our beloved, Christ. The process of working these character traits in our lives, endurance, patience, steadfastness involves the working of the Father, the Vinedresser (John 15).
Love and grace.
Kath
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