Life is filled with trials maybe you're coming out of one and maybe you're going into one
James starts like this
consider it pure joy my brothers 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
see what James is saying is listen you should have joy in the middle of whatever
trial you're going through because when you're going through the trial when your
faith he says when your faith is tested you are developing the ability not to quit
so you you know what I've realized it's so much easier to quit
it's so much easier to give up when the marriage gets hard right we want to quit
when the pressure seems like it's crushing us we want to just get out from under it and
God's saying but do you not understand that when you're under the pressure when you're
under the weight and the trial seems like it's crushing you that's when you grow and
develop that's when you become more mature and complete learn from pain before you leave it
don't try to hit the fast forward button through the painful moments of life sit in them and ask
God what are you teaching me what do you want me to learn in this what are you trying to show me
and it's not just grief like problems pain can come in work it can come in marriage it can come
through children school through sickness mental health slow down in those things
ask what are you teaching me when hard times come be a student and not a victim
a victim says why did this happen to me a student says what can I learn from this
a victim believes his hard time has come because God wants to punish him
a student understands God allows hard times in every life in order to get us and help us to grow
we believe so much in the sovereignty of God that when hard times come we know God is at
work for our good and his glory Thomas Constable has a very helpful word at this point he says
when trouble comes christians often react by doubting they are where God wants them to be
they often think that they've done something wrong and that God must be displeased with them
what if God wants me in the desert what if I'm supposed to be here
what if this is the only way God can teach me
God knows that the only way we grow is through difficulty and through challenges
just because I'm in the desert does not mean God has deserted me
and I know for us as we walk through pain as we walk through hardship our natural questions are
to say well where is God and why is this happening and those are fine questions that those are okay
to ask but I would ask another question though too and it's this what is my hardship doing to me
what kind of person am I becoming through this difficulty because I would imagine at some point
like the vision of you like 10 years from now the vision of you that you just love to think about
and celebrate and dream about that vision of you is only accomplished as you deal with afflictions
as you deal with hardships the path to that new you is going to be the path of pain that's what
it is and our hope though what makes it possible for us to hope is that God's got a purpose he's
got a real purpose in that life is hard but Paul says this and we know that in all things God works
for the good of those who love him who have been called according to his purpose okay there's a
purpose for pain and we know that God is working in us no matter what we face no matter what we go
through no matter how hard it is we know that God is working hard for us you are not God
you are not God he's God and there's good days and there's bad days but they're all God's days
and you can't see the future not one of you can no one here knows what tomorrow will bring
everybody wants to tell God how to do his job God you really missed it here
right worry is being afraid he's going to get it wrong and bitterness is believing he did
so why don't you let him be God of your life and why don't you submit fully to his counsel
in bad situations surrender to his sovereignty I'm not God and so when when days are really good
I'm going to celebrate Lord thank you for the goodness you've allowed me to experience under the
sun and when days are really really really really bad I'm gonna trust him I say Lord I know you're good
this doesn't feel good I'm going to trust you're not done I'm going to trust you I'm going to feel
all the things I'm going to experience all the emotion but at the end of the day God I trust you
and it's hard for people to believe to put their trust into something they can't fully understand
especially when you face challenges when you face things that you don't understand
when you or someone else can't explain why something is happening to you in your life
I love Proverbs chapter 3 verse 5 it says trust in the Lord with all of your heart trust him
trust the Lord with all of your heart lean not on your own understanding
but in all of your ways acknowledge him submit to him and he will make your paths
straight this verse insinuates that there will be things that happen in life and ways that God
works in our lives that we don't understand and we can't explain it we can't reason it out but it's
in those times we have to trust his character it's in those times where Jesus becomes very personal
and though how he's working may may be unexplainable who he is is still undeniable
I heard someone say when I was going through a hard time and I was trying to make sense of
it all they said Nick when you don't see or understand what his hands are doing
trust his heart and trust his character and I want to encourage those of you tonight that feel
like everything in your life is shaking that your only real answer is to trust God and to keep on
trusting God and to keep on trusting God and yes it's difficult when you don't understand what's
going on and it's especially difficult when what's going on in your life just does not seem fair
but I want to tell you something no matter what condition your life is in right now no
matter how many pieces it's in with God's help you can rebuild through the strength
of God you can rise up and rebuild you can run and not be weary you can walk and you shall not
faint but let me tell you something you're going to make it not because of who you are
or because of what you did but because of who Jesus is and what he did and he has given you
the Holy Spirit as a promise it's a promissory note of what is to come of what is to come and
I know some of you are going through some real darkness right now but I want you to know that
there is light at the end of the tunnel and his name is Jesus and he is coming for us