Finding Joy in the Trials

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." James 1:2-3 I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I must apologize that I am late on writing my post. Guess I was overwhelmed by turkey! Just kidding! I was thinking about how Thanksgiving has somehow taken on a different meaning to me this year. Of course, on Thanksgiving, I began to recap my year and all the blessings God has allowed in my life. Then, my mind recalled struggles I had faced in the 2008 year too. I thought of the many 'scares' I had had with my disease; quitting my job and walking away from a 10 year career; loosing my grandfather while at the same time, watching my remaining grandmother fight Alzheimer's for her every memory of our past as a family; wondering if I will have other children; hearing the doctor say, "you are a long way from remission"; hating that my husband has to go through the holidays without his mom...trials. Hard trials. But this year, I found myself being thankful for the trials almost as much as the blessings and here's why. I have begun to desire the truth and faithfulness of God's word. For so many years, I have read and even memorized verses in the Bible. But now in the end of our days, I have to do more than read. I have to be able to walk this Earth until my Lord splits open the sky and returns for me. If I am going to go through trials, I want to be able to do more than just "survive them". When the trial is over, I want to be able to 'come forth as gold' and be able to feel God's breath on the back of my neck from His closeness. For me to be able to see this happen, I need to believe God's word is effective and true. So, my philosophy is to apply it. I know, I know. It's not like it's my own invention! I mean, God tells us Himself to test Him and apply His word! But I have come to the conclusion that there is a way to apply His word and see a difference in our life. How do we do it?... being able to find joy in our trials. James 1:2 says to 'consider it pure joy' when you have a trial. We must first understand that when we face a trial, God is not telling us that the trial will produce a 'happy' feeling. Joy, in this sense, is being referred to as the outcome of having an intimate relationship with God. Because it is a fruit of the Spirit, it can not be achieved by ourselves but is given to us from Him. So this joy, James speaks about, comes from drawing as close to God as we can when we face a trial. Yet when we face a trial, God is often the last person consulted. Or, He is consulted and is abandoned when we do not get the response we wanted. This is why James relates perseverance with the trials. I have found that the joy comes when I continue to pursue a closeness with my Lord, despite the devil's tactics to pull me away. What about you? Are you currently facing a trial that causes you pain and despair day after day? We must know that God anticipated the problems we have in our homes, our jobs, our schools, our churches, and even our nation. He knew that His people would need both a reason to persevere and a way to do it. I hope you will join me in finding this 'joy' by drawing close to the one who can turn our despair into triumph... Love, Corrie My prayer for today: Lord, I believe you. I can't imagine what I would do without your word to cling to. Help me to hold to you when I am on shaky ground. Use every trial to bring me closer to you and farther away from me. May I find joy in loving you...