Devotional: Do Not Enjoy Your Trials

Hello ladies and gentlemen, my name is Justin Peters I hope that you and your family are doing well today, and I want to thank you very much for joining me

I want to do something new on my youtube channel and that is to begin to put up some relatively short videos

That are of a devotional nature primarily We may do a little bit of apologetics here and there but primarily of a devotional nature and I will be putting these videos up Pretty regularly.

I'm not sure exactly how regularly won't be every day, but at least one, maybe two, maybe three a week something like that just something to encourage you and maybe give you some just a little bit of nourishment from the

Word of God on a regular basis here of a devotional nature and today for our

Inaugural installment in this series. I thought we would look at James chapter 1 and I'll read verses 2 through 4

But just verse 2 will be our primary emphasis here, but James says this He says consider it all joy my brethren when you encounter various trials knowing that the testing of your faith

Produces endurance and let endurance have its perfect result so that you may be perfect and complete lacking in nothing

Notice what James says he says Consider it or count it all joy my brethren when you encounter various trials

Have you ever heard someone say that if you are in a trial as a Christian that you need to enjoy it?

based on James chapter 1 verse 2 Well, if you have heard that then you have heard erroneous teaching because James does not say

Enjoy your trials. He says count them as joy Trials are not

Enjoyable by definition That's why they're called trials if trials were enjoyable

Then they would not be trials and so that is not what he is saying. So, please don't fall into this hyper spiritual trap

That if you are going through a trial right now, and you're not enjoying it Then you're just not as spiritual as you ought to be.

That's not true Trials are not meant to be enjoyed. I can remember

Years and years ago, this was before I was Even converted I didn't realize it at the time

But I wasn't but I can remember telling people that my cerebral palsy My handicap is one of the greatest gifts that God has ever given me and I now understand that not only was that wrong, but Hindsight being able to look back on that with some, you know distance in the proverbial rearview mirror

I understand that that was false humility on my part Because my handicap is not a gift

My handicap is a trial And it's it's not enjoyable, you know

And I'm not gonna sit here and say that my handicap never bothers me because you know what on occasion

Sometimes it does and there are days that I would prefer not to be crippled

I think I can honestly say that I've never really been bitter about my handicap

For one thing I was born with it and I don't know anything different And so I don't miss walking because I've never done it

It's kind of like I don't miss flying on the space shuttle because I've I've never done it But my handicap is not enjoyable, you know, there are days

I've I had my druthers I wish I didn't have it. So trials are not meant to be

Enjoyed I think of some people that I know and love and respect like John and Debbie Lynn Kespert I've talked about them before in one of my videos

John Contracted polio when he was a boy and his wife Debbie Lynn Kespert has severe cerebral palsy

Same condition that I have only far more severe and you know what? These are two of the most joyful people that you would ever want to meet

They are just a delight to be around. They're a delight to talk to But they don't enjoy the trials the physical trials that they have

I'm sure if They were given an option if you know all things being equal if they could live the way they are

They are living now or live Without their physical conditions. I'm sure they would prefer not to have them

It's not that they enjoy the physical trials that they have I do not enjoy

Having cerebral palsy, so it's not that they are enjoyable, but we can count them as joy.

How can we do that? We can count them as joy knowing Who God is when we study his attributes when we know that God is good

When we know that he is faithful when we know that he is Patient that he is merciful that he is holy that he is just that he is righteous that he is sovereign

We the more we know God the more we can trust him You know, you can't really trust somebody that you don't know

So the more we know God the more we trust him and the more we understand that there is nothing

That can come our way that does not pass through the good Sovereign hand of God and even though these trials are not enjoyable

And even though they are not in and of themselves Good things God in his good providence is working out all of these things together

For the good he is using them to conform us into the image of his son. He's using them to Grow us in the grace and knowledge of the

Lord Jesus Christ He's using them to keep us more dependent upon him and our trials are opportunities

To glorify God in our conduct and what we say and how we comport ourselves We can people can see us going through trials and even though we may not enjoy them

We can still speak well of God we can Give thanks to the

Lord Knowing that he is good knowing that he is sovereign and so dear friends.

I hope this has been of help to you today Don't enjoy your trials, but you can count them as joy

Knowing that God is good. He is in control Thank you very much for joining me dear ones and until our next time together