So, trials again?

Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience. (James 1:2-3 AMP)

Okay, not going to sugar coat this one, but trials and temptations are definitely not something I count as wholly joyful! It goes without saying that each of us faces these day-to-day issues designed to keep us from following Jesus as closely as we'd like. They seem to come at us from all sides and definitely feel like they are 'enveloping us' in their snare, don't they? We must learn how to encounter them well, avoiding the snare completely. To that end, it may actually help to understand why we actually encounter these 'moments in time' that are seemingly designed to make us fail.

They bring out endurance. Let me be the first to admit that aging has decreased my physical endurance, but my spiritual endurance doesn't actually decrease with age, it increases! The longer we stick with our study of his word, time in prayer, and prayerful consideration of what God wants us to do when we are faced with trials or temptations, the more our spiritual endurance increases. It is as though we are exercising our 'spiritual muscles' when we take this time with Jesus.

They bring steadfastness. If you have ever wavered or waffled on a particular solution to a problem you have encountered, you likely know what it is like to feel like you aren't doing all that well in the moment. Your ability to stand unwavering in the face of trials, enduring without giving in, is directly proportional to the development of your faith walk. The closer you get to Jesus, the more unwavering you become in your commitment to live according to the standards he requires. The further you get from Jesus, either by drift or directly walking away, you will find your faith wavering more and more.

They bring patience. When someone first told me not to ever pray for patience because it comes through suffering and trials, it changed my prayer! I no longer prayed for patience, but rather that through unwavering spiritual endurance I'd see the end result that actually revealed patience within my character. The three go hand-in-hand. You need spiritual muscle, but you also need to be unwavering in your commitment to live according to God's standards, which in turn produces what some come to refer to as 'patience' - the ability to see troubles, delays, or suffering without getting all up in arms about it. Just sayin!