James 1
2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds
What kind of trials do we face in our lives? Many people face sickness and death of a loved one. Farmers face breakdowns and hail at just the wrong time. Many people face the prospect of losing their job and their source of income to support their families. Many people face trials because they are still held back by their past.
So how can we have joy in the midst of our sufferings? We can have joy in the midst of our sufferings because no matter what may happen we have Christ. What shall separate us from him? Neither life, nor death, anything in all creation. His love is secure no matter what we face. When we suffer and go through trials many people think they have done something wrong, they might have caused it. This is not the case, look at job he did nothing wrong.
Job did the right thing, even in his suffering, he trusted God. His world had fallen apart around him, but he knew that God was still on the throne. We must remember that we are not alone in our sufferings. Jesus himself suffered and the bible tells us that if we are living for God we will suffer.
What does the bible tell us to do when we suffer? It tells us to commit ourselves to our heavenly father. What is our first response when we have these trials and sufferings? Many times it is anger, why is this happening to me? Many times it is anxiety because we do not know what we are supposed to do. We are to trust Christ no matter what we face. Do you have joy in your life no matter what your circumstances?
How were the apostles able to have joy in the midst of persecution? They knew that their relationship with Christ was secure no matter what their circumstances. If their joy was based on their circumstances, it would of soon departed. Many of us have lost our joy. One of the chief causes of this is that we have found our joy in other things. We must make sure that our joy is based only on Christ. Our circumstances are temporary, Christ is eternal.
We must remember that ……
No matter what we face, our sins have been paid for.
No matter what we face, Christ is still on the throne.
No matter what we face our hope is secure in heaven.
No matter what we face our trials are temporary and Christ is eternal.
We have a joy that will never spoil or fade and that joy is in Jesus Christ.
This is how we face trials with Jesus
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