Sunday Verse #1

The verse I'll be going over is James 1: 2-3

NIV: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance."

Let's Break It Down

What do you think of that verse? It's really interesting, right? James is instructing us to consider it "pure joy" when we face tough trials!

At first glance, that doesn't make sense at all. Why would we be happy during those times? And not just happy, but PURE happiness.

Again, why? Well, it took me a minute of pondering what this meant, and I discovered something... James wants us to joyful in those hard times because God uses everything, good and bad, to make us better people.

Let's say you touch a hot stove for the first time... It burns, so you now know not to touch the stove. You would probably also tell everyone else around you that the stove is hot, and it's bad to touch it.

That's what James is trying to make us understand. We go through hard things to teach/help other people!

He goes on to say that it produces perseverance... God wants us to be his strong, sturdy pillars that can't be shaken. We can't just instantly become that; we have to work for it. We have to go through the hard stuff to become immune to it.

How To Apply This

Next time you go through something difficult, just remember that it's good! you'll become stronger, and God rewards that in Heaven.

And on top of that, you'll be able to help people around you! What if you lead someone to Christ because of your struggles?...

Having a Super Had Life isn't a bad thing, it actually is an encouragement to others!

Have an amazing day!