The Bible doesn't tell us to rejoice when we mess up and get into trouble. God can certainly use our mistakes to teach us, but that's not what James has in mind. Some of our trials just come from "living." Things aren't going right. Usually it's not one big thing but a lot of little things. We enounter physical, financial, relational or emotional trials that knock us for a loop. Peter calls this "the trial of your faith" (1Peter 1:7) What's on trial? Your faith! Whatever the size or length of our trial, there's nowhere we can go to escape the trial of our faith. Trying to avoid it is like changing schools in hopes of avoiding a test you don't want to take. But the next school will probably have tests too, probably harder than the ones in the school you just left, and now you're that much further behind in your studies and preparation. You can't outrun God-ordained trials. He knows where to find you!
The good news is, there's no such thing as a purposeless trial! Each trial is designed to launch us to a new spiritual level. The interesting thing about our trials is, they're custom made; they have our name on them. Paul discovered 2 things about his trials: (a) The reason for the trial. "To keep me from becoming conceited" (2 Cor 12:7) (b) The result of the trial. "That Christ's power may rest on me" (2 Cor 12:9) Like a tailor measuring you for a suit that will fit perfectly, the Holy Spirit customizes the trials we encounter to meet our spiritual need, to mold us, and to make us more like Jesus!
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