A few months back, my small group studied the book of James. I just love studying the book of James! Ha! People who know me well know that a statement like this doesn’t roll off of my tongue quite so easily. After all, who wants to “consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of any kind” right? Most of us find it next to impossible to see a glimmer of joy during any part of our trial and pain. We just want the joy to come…and the pain to go.

Yep that’s me… I want the pain to go away instantly. When suffering (difficulty) comes, I would rather head for the comforts of my “pit” than  be joyful. But God doesn’t want me to retreat to the comfort of my pit when trials come. I know this because I have “taken the test” and “learned the lesson” way too many times. For a few years it seemed like every time I walked through a season of trial, the book of James would always come up in either a sermon series, a small group study or in my quiet time. OY! God sure knows how to get a point across doesn’t He?  But you know what happens each time I study the book of James? My faith is ultimately strengthened and I sometimes find myself getting excited by what God is going to do in my life and the lives of those around me.

FAITH WALKING is always the way to go…even though it doesn’t always feel that great at the time.

So how do you get the tough times of life? Do you enter a trial recognizing you have no control over your circumstances and give the situation to God immediately? Or do you try to handle “things” on your own until it’s gets to the point where you’ve let it consume you and you just want out? I can remember wondering why God didn’t just step in and stop me from making some of the horrible mistakes I made.

I think the questions above are best answered by how close a relationship we have with Christ. For the longest time, I responded to life’s little trials with the same knee-jerk reaction…I tried to control the situation instead of handing it over to God and allowing Him work. I soon learned that I walked through the same trial over and over again because I wasn’t looking to the very ONE whom could work all things together for my good (Romans 8:28).

God is sovereign. He can see the entire canvas of our lives. He sees our times of joy and our times of sorrow/trial. Because of this, we must get to a place where we can trust that He sees the entire picture. It’s faith that leads us on our journey…not sight. Putting our faith (trust) in Christ, is the only way we are going to have the joy and abundant life He has promised us through His word. If we continue to hold on to our own agendas, we will fail every time because only He can see the canvas of our lives.

So what do you say…are you ready to do some “faith walking” with me?

Proverbs 3:5-6; Matthew 14:31; Psalms 37:4; Isaiah 40:28-31