Wisdom for the Trials, Tribulations and Challenges of Your Life
James 1:5-8 (NIRV) says: 5 If any of you need wisdom, ask God for it. He will give it to you. God gives freely to everyone. He doesn’t find fault. 6 But when you ask, you must believe. You must not doubt. People who doubt are like waves of the sea. The wind blows and tosses them around. 7 A man like that shouldn’t expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 He can’t make up his mind. He can never decide what to do.
At first glance, today’s passage on wisdom doesn’t seem related to the subject of trials, tribulations, challenges, growth or personal development – but James is actually continuing His thoughts from the previous three verses. We need wisdom to know how to respond to suffering, circumstances of this life or the hand we are dealt. This means we should see trials from God’s viewpoint and understand His purposes in allowing them in our lives. If you want to profit from your struggles, be sustained in them, and come through with joy and victory, you must understand the following truths:
2. He has a specific purpose for your suffering, which you may not understand until it is over.
3. This trial will be profitable if you submit to God and trust Him through it.
4. A trying situation .. a change in your way of life, unhappiness – is a chance for your faith to prove genuine and grow stronger.
5. When you endure extreme pressure with unexplainable peace and joy, the Lord will demonstrate His sustaining power to a watching world.
6. The Father will use your difficulties to produce Christ-like character.
7. God will walk with you through trials – look here: http://www.iaskgod.com/search/node/Jehovah%20Shammah
8. The Holy Spirit will enable you to survive this and to come out a conqueror.
If you believe these principles, they will shape how you respond to difficulties in your life.
This perspective eliminates the negative reactions normally felt and acknowledged by trials .. and makes supernatural responses possible. Instead of feeling miserable and hopeless, you’ll experience amazing peace and joy.