Friday, June 13, 2014

Posted by Niki |
Were we promised when we got saved that we would have an easy life?

No.

Jesus knew that we would face troubles and trials in our lives. James wrote his book during the Roman persecution era of the church. The needed some good information how to handle their situations. This is why the book of James is often called the most practical book in the Bible (see James 1:1). Our troubles and trials are never an “if” they are a “when”.

How are we supposed to deal with difficulties (because we know they are coming)? With a good attitude.Where does that good attitude come from? Our relationship with Jesus. The resources we need to deal with difficulties are spiritual, so our spirits must be right with God.

James 1:2 “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations:”

Divers temptations are troubles and trials. James says to count these as joy. Joy is different than happiness. James is not encouraging believers to pretend to be happy during rough times. Joy goes beyond happiness. Happiness is based on earthly circumstances and joy is based on our presence with God.

What does it mean to count? Think of an accountant. They balance numbers, they count things. They sort numbers into two columns. A positive and a negative. Debts and assets. It is up to an accountant to place the numbers in the right columns.

We are accountants with our situations and experiences. Things that hurt are our debts. We avoid them. Something positive or a good experience is what we look forward to and count as a blessing. As we become more experienced with life we realize that this method becomes more complicated. Things that cause us to suffer may become blessings in the end. On the other hand, things might appear to be blessings and we find that they cause us pain.

During these times of uncertainty of not knowing which category to file our situations in, James says to add them to your joy column. Most times we’d rather put them away and avoid them. But when we overcome them, we gain strength. They can help us grow in grace and can bring us closer to Jesus. Nothing that brings us close to God is bad. We might not enjoy it during, but the end will be joy.

It’s not a matter of what happens to us; it’s a matter of how we deal with what happens to us.

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