Trials Help Us Grow

Thursday, September 10th, 2026

5:01 am

Good morning! Today I am in James 1:1-18. James greets his fellow brother and sisters in Christ, saying that he is a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that he is writing this letter to the 12 tribes that are scattered abroad. He tells them that when troubles come their way, to consider them an opportunity for joy. Because when our faith is tested, our endurance has a chance to grow. For when our endurance is fully developed, we will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. He tells us that if we need wisdom, to ask our generous God, and He will give it to us, and He will not rebuke us for asking. But James warns us to be sure that when we ask Him, that our faith is in God alone. For a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. He tells us that such people will not receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do. Then he tells us that believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them, they will fade away like a little flower in a field. When the hot sun rises and the grass withers, the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all their achievements. He tells us that God blesses those who faithfully endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him. He warns us that when we are tempted, to not say that God is the one tempting us because God is never tempted to do wrong, and He never tempts anyone else. He tells us that temptation comes from our own personal desires, that entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions, and when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. So he tells us not to be misled, for whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. He chose to give birth to us by giving us His true Word, and we became His prized possessions.

Friday, September 11th, 2026

7:23 am

Good morning again! I ran out of time yesterday morning to finish, so I am picking back up where I left off. This is such a good passage. I love how God promises that He will be with us through the trials that we will face in this life. But not only that, I love how this passage finished, when we choose God and begin to follow Him, we become His prized possessions! How awesome is that! That the God that created everything in this world and the heavens, wants us to be a part of His family forever! I love that! It is so encouraging!

No matter what we go through, if we put our faith in trust in God alone, He will be with us. James warns us not to be misled by the world and that we must choose one side or the other if we want to be stable. This is where being on the fence is a problem, if you have heard that term before. I love what I heard one woman say from a podcast called "Strength Becomes Her", she said Satan owns the fence. Many times people claim to be Christians, but will still be stuck in worldly ways or actions. For example, they may say yes I am a Christian, but they are still stuck in a sin that they think is not that bad. But James tells us right here that our sins drag us away from God, they separate us from God. We cannot claim to be Christians and be okay with sin of any kind. Sin is sin. There is no sin greater than another (James 2:10), it is all sin in God's eyes, so we cannot be okay with it. But there is hope! God promises that He will help us if we repent and turn from those sins and turn to Him. When we choose Him and put our trust in Him, He cleanses us and begins changing us from the inside out. Helping us get out of the sins that we are stuck in, and He anchors us so we are stable and not shifting like the waves. He is the only way that we become stable.

But we must remember that even after we turn to Him, and repent, that does not mean that we will never face hardships or trials again. James tells us, pretty much to expect them in this life, but to face those trials with the hope of knowing those trials build our character and strength. All the trials that we go through grow us and make us stronger. We may not feel that way when we are going through them, but after we get past it, we can look back and see the goodness of God every step of the way. Because God is right there helping us the whole time. And He will give us the wisdom we need to get through those trials. But we must seek Him in the midst of those trials and not turn to the world. Turn to God during those times and allow Him to lead you through. He will. And when you finally do get through it, you will have a beautiful testimony of how God got you through. Then you will be able to help others that are going through the same thing.