Count It All Joy! - Pt 4

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. (James 1:2-4 ESV).

You may recall that yesterday I wrote that “steadfastness” is another word for “endurance.” The picture I conjure in my mind is that of the lighthouse standing against the enormous wind and water of the storms that crash against it. It really is an incredible sight. Alone, standing for one purpose only, it shines its light to lead others to safety regardless of the consequences of being in the eye of the storm. In other words, one of the things God is doing when he tests our faith is he is preserving our faith. When he lovingly brings trials into our lives, and he does so lovingly for all who are in Jesus, he is working for us, and in us, one of the greatest goods imaginable. When he tests us, he is taking action to keep us. And he keeps us not just by protecting our present level of faith, and not just by growing, enriching, developing, and maturing our faith. But in testing our faith, he is keeping it alive. God’s preserving work in us through our pain and difficulty is essential to what matters most, and James makes that connection explicit: “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him” (v. 2). God lovingly injects our lives with trials to train, grow, strengthen, and sweeten what matters most in us. Faith does not flourish when it lies untested. It atrophies when it goes unexercised. And eventually it dies. So, when God loves us with his saving love, and gives us saving faith, he commits, because he cares for us, to inject our lives with various trials to train, grow, sweeten, strengthen, and mature what matters most in us. Our “various trials” in this life are not superfluous to our enduring in faith. And they are not just threats to losing our faith. They are one of God’s essential means through which he preserves the faith he has given us and keeps us as his own. This is what we have been created for. Like the lighthouse, we were not created for the calm weather inland. We were created for the storm. The added benefit of drawing others to the safe harbor of the focus of our faith is even more comforting. I often wonder if I will know those who have been guided to the safety of God’s grace by my suffering, especially my joyous suffering. I think that would make heaven even sweeter. Remember, pain is painful; and, suffering can be joyful. It won’t last forever. Maybe it will kill you. If it does, you get heaven in return!