“² Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,³ for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.⁴ And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4)

God’s ultimate purpose for trials in our lives is that we’ll grow spiritually strong as we become more like Jesus. 

One day we are all going to stand before God, who is actively preparing each one of us for that day.

• For some people, the goal of life is to have the perfect family: a family that lives in a nice house, goes on great vacations, gets along perfectly, is perfectly healthy, and has plenty of money.
• For others, it is a successful career, where there is meaning and respect in the workplace along with regular advancement and promotions. 
• For others it is perfectly healthy body that is strong, fit, and rarely sick.

For most people, the peaceful family, a trouble-free workplace, and a perfect body is a far cry from reality.  Real families lose jobs, have fights, run low on funds, and face sickness. (For more on Christ Exalting Marriage, click here)

If our goal is have a perfect life, then setbacks are devastating.  However, if the goal is to be “steadfast,” spiritually “perfect and complete” like Jesus, and “lacking in nothing” then trials are an effective tool to develop strength in character. 

James 1:3-4 calls for a totally different perspective on life. 

• If our main goal in life is to fix all our problems and acquire a worry-free existence, filled with pleasure, then we might not ever reach that goal.  Usually as soon as one difficult circumstance is resolved, another one come in right on its heels.
• If our main goal is to grow strong in the midst of trials and to become more like Jesus, then we are able to rejoice in the midst of difficulties knowing that God is using every trial to make us more like Jesus.

For more on God’s purposes in trials, click here.

We can find joy in the midst of problems when conformity to the image of Jesus is our end goal.  Malcolm Muggeridge was a Christian journalist who died in 1990.  He spoke for those of us who desire godliness and growth over painlessness and pleasure. He said,

“Contrary to what might be expected, I look back on experiences that at the time seemed especially desolating and painful, with particular satisfaction. Indeed, I can say with complete truthfulness that everything I have learned in my seventy-five years in this world, everything that has truly enhanced and enlightened my existence, has been through affliction and not through happiness, whether pursued or attained.

In other words, if it ever were to be possible to eliminate affliction from our earthly existence by means of some drug or other medical mumbo-jumbo … the result would not be to make life delectable, but to make it too banal or trivial to be endurable. This of course is what the cross [of Christ] signifies, and it is the cross more than anything else, that has called me inexorably to Christ”[1]

When we set our sights above the things of this world and fix them firmly upon our God then trials can become a joy to us because each trial is custom-made to draw us close to Him so that we know Him, trust Him and love Him more!

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