Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.
James 1:2–4 The Message
Yes, you read that first sentence right. Tests and challenges should be considered a gift rather than a burden. How often do we encounter trials in life and wonder what we did to deserve such unjust treatment? It is inevitable that we will encounter adversity, but there is no trial or tribulation that God cannot use toward the revelation of His glory.
Let me assure you that when you walk through challenging times, you are not walking alone or without purpose. God has empowered us with His grace to help us through moments that we could never overcome in our own human ability. We learn where we are in Jesus when we come under hardship. Rather than crying out to God to remove the interruptions, we should be thankful and expectant, because it is in our inability that God has the opportunity to manifest His grace in our lives.
We may not always understand the why behind our pain and struggles for righteousness. What we do know is that we can stand on the promise that through our weaknesses we will encounter God’s power.
We can’t enter into the fullness of the life God has for us if we continue to focus on our inabilities rather than delighting in His glory. My prayer is that like Paul, we delight in our hardships because they bring a great victory for Christ (2 Corinthians 12:10).
