James 1:2-4, HCSB
First, I apologize for not posting Sunday's VotD post on Sunday. I could claim my cold (or whatever funk I've come down with) as an excuse to miss posting, but I wasn't feeling that bad.
Second, let me say that this passage kicks my backside like few others in Scripture. I would much, much rather live in comfort, with all in my life going swimmingly, than face "various trials." Yes, I recognize that it is in trials, not comfort, where we prove our faith as legitimate. But I'd still rather be comfortable. I imagine I'm not alone in this.
Nevertheless, trials will come. We don't need to seek them out in some perverse notion that trials, by the very nature, draw us near to God. Trials may indeed lead to us falling away from a local body of believers and away from an active faith. I've experienced exactly that and I can assure you the road back was uncomfortable. And remember, I like comfort.
But James uses the word "consider," which recognizes that trials are painful, but continues to implore that we see God's hand in bringing us through them. He may not resolve the trial in the way we'd prefer. Indeed, He may not give us an answer this side of heaven. But He does not abandon His children, bought at an immeasurable price, when we face trouble. To borrow an excerpt from an Alistair Begg sermon, God is not "in a deck chair," coldly detached from our suffering.
If you've read even a few of my VotD posts, you've probably noticed a trend toward portraying our faith in what I believe is an honest light. Yes, Christians face suffering, loss, and pain just like those who've not placed their faith in Christ, but our suffering has a purpose and an ultimate end. We place our trust in our Savior and, ultimately, that makes all the difference.
So whether you're in the middle of a trial or, I pray, studying Scripture to prepare for the next inevitable trial, I encourage you to read through James and put what you feel beneath the authority of what you know by God's mercy and His Word. Clinging to our Savior during trials develops our endurance. Yes, of course it is an unpleasant process, but trust that God, in His sovereignty, knows what He is doing and, by His strength in you, persevere through it.
