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…so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything….Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him. (James 1:2-4,12)
We Are Not Spared from Troubles
Many of you reading this are facing challenges, dangers, and difficulties right now. Many are facing temptation, tribulation, and trouble of all sorts. You are not alone. The Bible reminds us often: “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.”1
From Bible times up until now, Jesus’ people have experienced adversity and affliction because we live in a fallen world. But our suffering is bearable because we are certain that the Lord is for us and with us. God our Father uses troubles to make us better people, more like Christ, and to use us to bless others. Satan tempts us to get bitter against our Lord so that we stumble into sin, but we must resist him. Spiritual warfare is essential.2
Edward Payson’s Example
The verses above in James remind me of Edward Payson (1783-1827), an American Congregational pastor. The Lord used the death of Payson’s younger brother to wake Edward up to God, to shake his self-reliance, and to make him call on Jesus the Son of God, and receive and rest upon Christ alone for salvation. God used a tragedy to make Payson a new person in Jesus. But his emotions were still very unstable. Today he might be diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Extreme happy times were followed by deep depressions. Payson also suffered unusual shifts in mood, energy, and the ability to carry out daily tasks. In addition, he suffered from migraines, insomnia, paralysis in his arm, and nearly died from tuberculosis. Two of his children died in infancy. Some of you have suffered similar things and worse.
Christians are loved by God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), saved by God, and sustained by God. But we are not guaranteed an easy life down here. Philippians 1:29 says: “It has been granted to believers not only to believe in Jesus, but also to suffer for Him.” That’s the gift most of us don’t want.
Fullest Joy Only in Heaven
By God’s love, mercy, and grace, Edward Payson was hard pressed, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; suffering, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.3 He hung on to Christ, knowing that Jesus hung on to him,4 and he was known as “Praying Payson.”
Edward was wise in Christ leading many to Jesus’ righteousness by faith. He also said that he was never fit to say a word to a sinner except when he had a broken heart himself. Edward knew we don’t get the fullest joy in this life, but only with Christ in Paradise. A month before his death, Payson dictated a letter to his sister, urging her to keep on following Christ so they could meet again in Heaven.
James’ Scripture at the top of the page and Edward Payson’s example remind me of Fanny Crosby (1820-1915). She was blind from childhood, but trusted in Christ’s unfailing love and rejoiced in His salvation. In Fanny’s hymn, “Some Day the Silver Cord Will Break,” the last stanza and chorus go like this:
Some day, till then I’ll watch and wait, My lamp all trimmed and burning bright,
That when my Savior I will greet, My faith will then be changed to sight.
And I shall see Him face to face, And tell the story, saved by grace.
Until we get to Heaven, the Lord brings good things out of trouble in this life. Here is just one blessing:
We Suffer So That Others May Be Saved
Paul wrote: “I am chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of God’s chosen ones, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.”5 Paul committed no crime, but he was imprisoned for preaching God’s good news. People found that offensive and considered him a troublemaker because he rocked their boat. While in prison, Paul wrote some of his letters that we have now in the New Testament and billions of people have come to faith in Christ and grown in Christ because of those letters over the past 2,000 years. From prison, Paul also coached others to reach unsaved people who he was not able to teach in person.
God often does not change the world by taking us out of suffering, but rather by demonstrating His grace through us in the midst of pain. Author and teacher Elisabeth Elliot (1926-2015) sadly buried her two husbands seventeen years apart. Jim was murdered on the mission field in Ecuador and Addison died of cancer after four years of marriage. But Elisabeth never stopped rejoicing in Christ her Savior and pointing others to Him. She still called on Jesus, despite her grief, and helped others to do the same.
Joni Eareckson Tada, a quadriplegic was injured in a diving accident, survived two bouts with cancer, and lives with constant pain. Yet Joni still leads people to Jesus through her teaching and writing. She especially helps people with disabilities to find hope, dignity, and their place in Jesus’ family.
Tragically, Jerry Sittser lost his mother, his wife of 20 years, and his four-year-old daughter in one car crash! He was left as a single father to care for three surviving children and was nearly crushed by the weight of his grief. Yet the Lord sustained Jerry and helped him to point others to Christ for salvation and sanity. One of his books, Resilient Faith, urges Christians to reach out faithfully, creatively, and winsomely to a world that thinks Christianity is obsolete.6 We have Jesus’ message of abundant life to share with a heartbroken world. They need us!
The Challenge for Us
Do you have physical, mental, emotional, spiritual troubles, dear ones? I bet that most of you do. If not, you probably will in the future. The Lord doesn’t spare us from trials. But Christ does help us look past our difficulties to the joy that lies ahead for Jesus’ followers and to persevere in following Him.7 Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory and blessing that will be revealed in us when Christ returns.8 And so God’s people remind ourselves, we remind other Christians, and we tell the unsaved about Christ, our blessed hope. We urge people to be reconciled to God and we pray: “Come, Lord Jesus.”9
Prayer
We thank You, our Father, that You will never waste our pain and suffering. Give us fresh hope in Christ and love for You and others poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. Give us health of body and soul so that we may do what pleases You. We need You today and every day, every hour and every moment. Bless us and make us a blessing to others. We pray in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Notes (various Bible translations used): 1 Acts 14:22. 2 Rom 8:37-39; 1 Cor 10:13; 2 Cor 10:4-5; Eph 6:10-20; 1 Pet 5:8-9. 3 2 Cor 4:7-9. 4 Psalm 63:8. 5 2 Tim 2:8-10. 6 See “What Only Suffering Can Say: How Trials Feed the Flame of Witness” by Vaneetha Rendall Risner in desiringgod.org. 7 Heb 12:1-3. 8 Rom 8:18. 9 2 Cor 5:11-6:2; Rev 22:20.