Count it all joy!

James 1:2-4 states:

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Trials of various kinds come from various sources, and I believe, have various purposes.  Hopefully, these trials teach us who we are in God. 

When faced with adversity we have two choices: go it alone, or go with God.  If we go it alone we may miss the point of the trial completely (which is to go with God.) 

All of our power comes from God.  He has loaned it to us to use at our discretion.  We get to decide whether we collaborate with The Creator of the Universe, or go our own way.

If we go with God then the testing of our faith as described by James will lead to steadfastness, and ultimately, to our own perfection in God.  If we go our own way, well, who knows where that may lead?

I was going to write about how God uses people to challenge us.  He does. But that’s less joyful than this.

Kevin Bibo