Troubles and Trials are Opportunities

My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.
If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you.
James 1:2-5 NRSV

The word, endure, gives the impression of something that we have to bear with. If it is something that we have to bear with, it is probably undesirable. To endure anything is unpleasant. Yet we cannot do without endurance. Look at building construction for example. Without endurance, brick is not hardened, steel is not forged,and the building will collapse at the slightest strain. In the human body, if the muscle is not developed, bone is brittle, and we wouldn’t get out of bed.

The apostle James tells us to endure trials with joy. How could we count it all joy when we go through trials? I remember the old former multi-cab my wife and I drive here in the Philippines. It broke down the first few times I drove it. It broke down so often that we developed a phobia. The slightest change of engine noise and loss of power tensed us up. I tried to be positive about the situations but it wasn’t easy. Then I discovered on hindsight that through the breakdowns we learnt that the local folk can be very helpful, we got to make friends, and that God used a variety of ways to help us through the difficult times. Then a sense of anticipation began to grow inside us– God is going to show Himself great through the vehicle breakdowns. I would whisper a ‘thank you’, did the best I could to rectify the problem, and anticipate His wonderful work. I can say now that challenges are God’s ways of showing His grace, wisdom and love to us. Although trials can be difficult I can attest that we can be joyful as we understand the purpose of it.

As children of God, trials and troubles come to us with His blessings. God only allows those trials that we can overcome, and those that serve to build us up. Enduring trials builds character. For this reason, we are to rejoice in trails.

A pastor friend of mine was told to go for a further scan when a lump in his kidney was discovered during a medical mission. When pastor Jerry revealed to me his condition, he was encouraged to look to God, the Healer, and that this was happening to him to show us God’s glory. He went for 3 ultrasound scans and a biopsy. It was cancerous. It seemed that his life and mission work had suddenly been cut short. And he was worried about medical cost if he had to undergo surgery. A CT scan was needed to schedule a surgery. Meantime, friends were praying together with him. The CT scan was done and pastor Jerry was so anxious about the result that he spent the night praying. Pastor Jerry and his wife entered the doctor’s office trusting God to come true for them, whatever the result was. No traces of the tumour or lump was found in the kidney. Pastor Jerry asked about the lump shown on the 3 ultrasound reports but the doctor assured him that the CT scan was as accurate as they could get. Hallelujah! It was a God given miracle. In the process, Pastor Jerry and his wife experienced God in a fresh new way. Their perspective of serving God took on a new meaning and their faith in God has grown. .

We thank God for His mercy and grace when He heals but there are times when God does not heal. At such times, God grants us His grace to endure and persevere. The specific reasons and purposes why God did not heal are often not known. What we can know and believe is that God loves us and that whatever happens to us are meant to mature us and to bring glory to His name. I am not saying this callously, I have watched a close friend and a fellow colleague die of cancer. I have witnessed God’s grace, heard their testimonies that God was good to them and saw God through the reflection on their faces.

The apostle James tells us that if we let endurance have its full effect in our lives we will be mature and complete, lacking in nothing. I believe the ‘maturity and complete’ here refers to virtues such as love, mercy, grace, faith, wisdom, patience, gentleness, meekness, and the likes. These virtues are not something that we can just download from God through prayer. If we pray for patience God will give us life situations where we need to exercise patience. That’s when endurance on our part is needed so that patience will grow in us. If we pray for more love, God will give us more opportunities to exercise love and to draw strength from Him to love.

I believe praying for wisdom in James 1:5 is just another example. We can pray for any godly virtue for that matter. When trouble actually happens in answer to our prayers, do not doubt God, but endure it, we are promised we will become more godly. I think this is where we can learn to endure with joy. God is moulding us through troubles and trials and we are becoming more mature and complete as we let endurance finish its work.