“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-4 ESV
I’ll be honest. This is a hard truth to appropriate. My mind balks at the thought of rejoicing in the midst of difficulties. Yet James uses phrases that rattle my intellect, like ‘count it all joy’ and ‘let it have its full effect.’ Because, in my mind, adversity seems incompatible with anything positive or productive.
Phillip’s translation puts it this way: “When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives, my brothers, don’t resent them as intruders but welcome them as friends.” Welcome them? Why would anyone welcome hardships? Verses 3-4 go on to explain, “Realize that they come to test your faith and to produce in you the quality of endurance. But let the process go on until that endurance is fully developed, and you will find you have become men of mature character with the right sort of independence.”
Let the process go on – God uses our trials to fashion us into servants useful to His Kingdom purposes. Imagine a piece of pottery that is not put through the kiln. Within moments of being used, it would shatter and end up in the trash. In the same way, the furnace of affliction refines us and strengthens us for the ministry God has prepared for us up ahead.
Vaneetha Rendall Risnershares her own path through tribulation:
“God refines us in the fire. The flames in our life sanctify us and draw us to God in ways that nothing else can. We emerge with a stronger faith and an unrivalled dependence on him. But the process isn’t easy… The furnace contains treasures I can’t find elsewhere. As Samuel Rutherford said, ‘If the Lord calls you to suffering, do not be dismayed. For with it he will provide a deeper portion of Christ.’
Only those who have suffered can understand those gifts fully. A deeper portion of Christ. Life-giving water. The honey of the word. While the furnace of affliction can be unspeakably hot, what we gain through it is indescribably sweet. In it, God refines us, turning our pain into gold that will last throughout eternity. Even in the midst of my struggles, in the white heat of the furnace, I am grateful.” (https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-precious-furnace-of-affliction)
Prayer: Lord, help me to see times of tribulations as opportunities to stretch and strengthen my faith. Thank you that when I pass through times of affliction, you provide a deeper portion of yourself. Amen.
Thought: As sure as God puts His children in the furnace of affliction, He will be with them in it. Charles H. Spurgeon