In
the verse we read yesterday, James 1:2-4, the Bible says that we should
consider it pure joy when we face trials.
I don’t know about you, but my first response when I face a new trial is
rarely a response of joy. I don’t get
excited when I am called upon to suffer, but though the trials are hard, they
are worth it. In fact, they are so
beneficial for us that we are to count it all joy! If you are a Christian, the trials you face
are used by God to develop in you perseverance. That quality is so valuable that
it gives us reason to rejoice in our sufferings!
In
the hard times I find myself drawing closer to the Lord because I realize how
much I need Him. I grow because of suffering. My severe dysautonomia has been, and continues to be, a blessing in disguise. God uses dysautonomia to produce perseverance
in me.
I
was recently reading Randy Alcorn’s book, 90 Days of God’s Goodness, and I especially liked two of the quotes he shared
by Charles Spurgeon. Spurgeon said, “I
venture to say that the greatest earthly blessing that God can give to any of
us is health, with the possible exception of sickness.” Spurgeon saw the value that was to be had in
suffering: “I am afraid that all the grace that I have got of my comfortable
and easy times and happy hours, might almost lie on a penny. But the good that I have received from my
sorrows, and pains, and griefs, is altogether incalculable….Affliction is the
best bit of furniture in my house. It is
the best book in a minister’s library.”
There
is blessing to be had in suffering.
Count it all joy, dear friend, and persevere in whatever trial God has
called you to endure today. It is worth
it.
“…We
rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in
our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to
shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy
Spirit, who has been given to us”
(Romans 5:2-5, NIV).
Photo Credit: muffinbasket
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