“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
— James 1:2–4

James said to consider it joy when you are facing trials, because the testing of your faith produces endurance and makes you complete in Him.

You see, beloved, trials are God’s gift to us to make us strong. It’s just like when people are getting in shape physically. In order to build their physical muscles, they have to face resistance. That’s why weight training is also called resistance training. Pushing past our comfort zones increases our capacity.

So whether in the natural or in the spirit, the way to grow stronger is to face resistance. That is why James says to consider it joy when we face trials. Those trials serve to bring us into a deeper peace in Jesus. They make us complete.

Every day, all day long, life is a trial. That’s the truth. Sure, we have seasons when we are just lying in the sun being blessed and refreshed, but generally speaking, life is a trial. We have to choose the right thoughts to think all day long, and the enemy is always trying to make us worry, make us fear, and give us wrong perceptions of reality. All day long we have to battle to stay in peace and to choose God. We have to pray for wisdom and understanding so we can overcome in the love of God and be brought into His victory.

I want to encourage you with this: Life is meant to be a battle; it is meant to be a trial. We need adversity to become strong, and as we get strong, we are made happy.

Father God, I will try to receive trials as a gift from You and trust that You have a purpose for them.

Rabbi Kirt A. Schneider, Rivers of Revelation (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2020), Used by permission.