Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4 NIV
We all know that conundrum young people face when hunting for the job they really want. They find that a business is hiring for a position with the responsibilities and benefits they want and hopes and expectations are high. Then they hear the dreaded response: “We’re looking for someone with experience.” For the next while they are left wondering how they will ever get the needed experience if they can’t get a job to give them the experience. They don’t realize that dealing with this disappointment is part of what it takes to become adequate for big tasks.
In a similar sense, the magnificent maturity we want and need emotionally is developed significantly through trials and troubles. How we handle them, as poorly as it may be in the beginning, gives us a place to start. When we have a backlog of memories and experiences that were not processed well, if at all, we may greatly benefit from personal counseling. Joining a small group can benefit you in working through the healing process with others who are pressing forward in the same direction. (The book Soul Healing, by Tammy Smith, is available at New Pointe).
James tells us that troubles are guaranteed, but that they are the opportunity for great joy. When we are stretched, tested, and tried, we can know for sure that we are in the middle of a great opportunity to grow up. As hard as it is, God is at work. It doesn’t mean that He sent the trouble – some comes from Satan, some simply from our broken world, and sometimes from our own unwise choices. But James learned that when these troubles are placed in the hands of God, they become the tools that make us grow to greatness.
You know it is true. Looking back over your life, I am sure you can see that IF you didn’t give up, if you trusted God, if you persevered, your greatest insights and progress came from those times. A man just told me a few days ago, “I can hardly believe I am saying this – but as hard as it was, I am grateful for who God made me into through my divorce. I didn’t want it, tried as hard as I knew then to save it. But she was done. However, I wouldn’t want you to have known me back then. I was a Chrisian, but still so immature and selfish. I didn’t even see it, and thought God was letting me down. But when I humbled myself and began to work with God, I saw truth about myself and the way out.” That’s the way God works. When we keep working with Him in every hardship, we will become fully developed and mature.
- You have either just come out of a hard time, or you are in a hard time right now, or you will be in a hard time before long. That’s how life works. But keep in mind, these are your best opportunities for growing up emotionally and spiritually.