A Word about Turning Trials into Triumph

 

Today I want to share a word about word about turning trials into triumph.

God’s Word is lamp to our feet and a light to our path and it is the best source of wisdom for our everyday lives. Today, let’s explore how to reach our potential in Christ as I share a word about turning trials into triumph as I comment James 1:1-12. This passage reads:

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.  Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

When it comes to the subject of exercise and physical health, we all know what the phrase “No pain, no gain,” means. We cannot grow strong physically unless we exert ourselves and unless we stretch our strength and endurance.

What is true for our bodies is also true for our spirits, at least in the fact that growth only comes after trials and personal effort. Today, James, the half-brother of Jesus and the pastor of the Jerusalem church, the first Christian church, tells us how to take our trials and turn them into triumph.

First, we must learn to count. Counting is an essential basic skill that we teach children early in school. We must be able to count so that we can tell time, count money, and do many other day-in, day-out tasks.

Math skills are becoming more and more important in our high-tech world, but not all areas of mathematics are equally useful in all situations.  Geometry, trigonometry, algebra, and calculus all have special uses for specific requirements. 

In our daily lives these higher forms of math may not apply, so we need to learn to count like God does. James tells us to count trials as useful and to count temptations as beneficial because when we allow God to help us and we grow stronger, we can count it as joy.

We also need to remember that God’s math is always perfect. In John 6:37-40, Jesus said, 

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.  For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

Next, we must learn to know. What we believe is important because reality, what we see in the world around us, is filtered through our knowledge. Reality does not impact our lives as much as our perception of reality.

A great example of this is playing peekaboo with a child. Young children who have not yet learned about object permanence will think that their parent has disappeared when a baby blanket is pulled up and their face is covered. Their parent still exists; the children just don’t understand that yet. 

Our beliefs about trials can defeat us and make us miserable. On the other hand, our beliefs about trials can encourage us and make us stronger. This is like football practice: is it torture or is it energizing? We must learn how God uses trials and tribulations to make us stronger, to season us, and to give us endurance.

Trainers often have their thoroughbred racehorses swim in ponds or water tanks to build their endurance and their strength. Instead of throwing us into the deep end of the pool, God uses our daily trials and tribulations to do the same thing.

Third, we need to learn to let growth happen. Growth can be a mixed bag because it can cause stress and confusion from time to time. That’s why we call them “growing pains.” Still, the blessings out-weigh the problems that growth can cause.

Growth requires that we endure the stresses that it causes. We must stay the course and allow God to complete His work in us. Like removing a thumb drive from a computer before it finishes writing a file to it, we will corrupt God’s work of sanctification in us if we give up. 

If we let God have His way, the result of growth is that we will be blessed and honored like a winning athlete, but our trophy will be the crown of life.

Finally, we need to learn to ask God for wisdom. Wisdom is seeing life from God’s point of view, and this is how we must look at trials and tribulations.

We need wisdom, and the way to get it is to ask God. We need to seek His wisdom boldly and confidently, knowing that it will be provided to us liberally when we ask for it in faith.

In conclusion, I recently read an article describing how few Americans exercise regularly. That article also described the physical and mental health issues caused by our lack of exercise. 

The good thing about trials and tribulations is that we don’t have to make any special effort to experience them. We don’t have to take time to go for a walk or for a run. We don’t have to go to the gym or use any exercise equipment. 

No, trials and tribulations come to us, and like times past when most people physically labored for a living, these challenges come our way every day. The issue is not whether we will face trials and tribulations, but what we will make of them, and what we will allow God to make of us through them. In doing this we can turn trials into triumph.

Thanks so much for visiting with me today! I'll be back soon with another word from the Bible can share together.

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt