Terri's Wellspring

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. James 1:2-4

Many mornings we wake up not knowing what the day has in store for us. Some days bring challenges that make us wonder how we will make it through. Our troubles may impact our lives in many ways, health, finances, and relationships, just to name a few. The writer encourages us in this passage to “consider it an opportunity for great joy” another translation says to “count it all joy”. If you are like me, when trouble arrives at our doorstep, for many of us, our first response is something less than joy. It may look more like worry or concern. But what if we approached each problem knowing that God is on our side and that our Father was able to lead us and guide us and to provide for all of our needs. What if we knew at the beginning of the problem that the experience would strengthen our faith and that we would come out stronger in the process?  We are encouraged to approach our trials and troubles this way. It is a blessed life with joy that allows us to put our trust in Him.