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. James 1:2-3
When we think about a race, we often focus on the finish line. The reward for finishing the race and finishing it well is, indeed, something worth looking toward. If, however, the reward for finishing a race is our only focus, we will miss the other benefits of running, such as better health, endurance, and strength. For most runners, the goal of running extends beyond finishing a race. They want to have stronger bodies and build stronger friendships with other people who are also running their race. After all, the good that happens when running a race extends beyond crossing the finish line. This is true in the spiritual race that we are running. The good work that God does extends beyond just finishing the race well. God does remarkable things in us while we are running the race. Namely, He strengthens us and builds endurance, especially when the race becomes challenging and difficult.
The book of James reveals that our trials and difficulties serve to strengthen and grow us. In this book of the Bible, James writes in James 1, “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy” (verse 2). Now, joy is not the emotion that comes to mind for most when they think about trials. Even still, James encourages us to count troubles of any kind as opportunities for great joy. Why can we count our trials as opportunities for joy? James answers this question, writing, “For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow” (verse 3). Just like our muscles grow stronger when they undergo difficult strain, our faith grows when we face any kind of hardship or difficulty. This endurance is critical if we want to have strong faith that endures to the very end. That is why James continues his teaching by saying, “So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing" (verse 4). When we endure trials and difficulties, our endurance grows, and we lack nothing. What a promise for us to hold on to!
Make no mistake, my friend. The goal of a race is reaching the finish line, but what happens in us while we run the race is critical. When we undergo trials and difficulties, our faith has a chance to grow in a way that it never had to grow before. Our trust in God is strengthened, and our relationships with Him grow stronger. We are also stronger, more faithful, and more resilient people.
God does not waste our difficulties and trials. Our perseverance and determination to keep following Christ, even when we are weary and tired, does not go unnoticed. God sees our perseverance, and He is honored by the way we continue to follow Him through the good and heartbreaking times. As we walk through these difficulties, He grows us and strengthens us so that we can keep going until we reach the finish line.
Take a few moments to think about trials you have faced or are currently facing. Write down three of these trials that you have faced or are currently facing. Then, write out at least three ways that God developed perseverance in you as you walked through those trials. End your time in prayer, thanking God for the growth and endurance that happens in us when we walk through trials.
James 1:1-18
1This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I am writing to the “twelve tribes”—Jewish believers scattered abroad.
Greetings!
2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.
9 Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. 10 And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field. 11 The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements.
12 God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. 13 And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. 14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
16 So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. 18 He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.
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