Trails are blessings - No joke!

James writes:
Jas 1:2-3
(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.

Is he nutz of what? ;-}}

Not really.  The counting it all joy is easily answered in 1 Peter:

1Pe 1:3-9

(3)  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

(4)  to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

(5)  who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

(6)  In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,

7)  so that the tested genuineness of your faith--more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

(8)  Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,

(9)  obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Verse 6 is critical.  We have to be grieved by "various" trials.  but the problem is;  "What do you consider a trial?"

For most of us a trial is usually something big.  Cancer, financial crisis, addiction, mental health issues - you know the "biggies."  But we cheat ourselves when we limit our perception of trials to just those things that hit us hard.  Our lives are full of trials - the fact that we miss most of them is a sad reflection of our condition.

If you are a believer every day holds many many trials which we miss and in missing them we fail to experience the sense of victory or defeat we need to experience.  Going to work, dealing with traffic, working among unbelievers are all trials of not only our faith but of our faithfulness as well.  If you have never noticed that, WAKE UP!

Money is a trial.  Getting it, keeping it and using it especially today is a trial.

Kids - raising them well is a trial.

Cars - keeping them up is a trial.

All the demands of our culture that we equate with being OK are trials.

Jesus, as I've said over and over and over made it very very clear that our LIVES here, as His sheep, would be LIVES of trial, temptation and tribulation.  

Why do we refuse to see ALL the trials we face and face them as such?  Maybe we just don't want to bother.  Maybe we're just ignorant.  Maybe we're just, well, numb.

Regardless of why, we need to fight against the numbness, ignorance and bother and realize the fantastic place we have in God's plan, the magnificent thing He has done for us and the great and sure promise He has made us.  Doing this we can count our trials, all of them, as simply part of our work here as His sheep.

I do not think the "little while," in verse 6 means we suffer intermittent trials.  I believe that he is telling us to look to the promise of our full and complete sanctification.  I think he wants us to look at our trials, all of them, through the lense of the promise of eternity with Him.  We need to have a heavenly view, if you will, of all - all - of our trials.  We need to recognize them all and appreciate them all.

Appreciate?  Yes!  That's the "if neccessary," in verse 6.  Trials here are necessary   I would go so far as to say essential to our spiritual health and our hope.  Not only do they produce endurance but they remind us of what we endure for.  Even more importantly they keep us in mind of how we can endure them.  We can only endure them by His grace and provision.  Trials - small and large - all of them - should make us keep our eyes on Jesus, keep our eyes in His word and keep our knees bent in prayer.

Paul writes:

1Co 10:13

(13)  No temptation (this is the same word translated trial in James) has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

Trials drive us, or should, to the faithfulness of God - on our knees.  He will not to be tried by that which His faithful provision cannot enable us to face and endure.  And even better, He will provide an escape, a way out of it.  He is faithful.

But Paul nails it when he follows this verse with:

1Co 10:14

(14)  Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.

What worries you and diminishes your trust in Him?  What hinders you in your duties to Him?  In short, it is idolatry plain and simple.  But more on that another time.

God bless you in all your trials which are blessings if you will but submit to His sovereignty and trust in His grace. 

Nothing trivial!

I'm finding myself spending a lot more time in prayer than I have in years.  And I'm beginning to come to a place where I do not think we can ever pray too much and therr is nothing too trivial.

I can remember early in my walk having a smug feeling for folks who prayed for things like parking places, washers, and other common and simple things.  

I've discovered that there is perhaps a bit of, "I don''t need God for this," or "this is too little for God to care about in that old attitude.  Yes, this is a confession that I somehow had it in my head that there was God's sovereignty and providence and then there was ours.  It was an attitude that held that there were just some things God didn't care about - or was too big to exert Himself for.  I've had to examine and evaluate and repent of that - working on it daily.

When Jesus speaks of God's provision and interest in birds and flowers and hairs on our head He makes it plain that nothing is trivial when it comes to His Lordship and love for His creation.  Parking places, cars running well, washers breaking down are perhaps not of as great a concern to Him as they are to us BUT if they can affect His children he is concerned.

I've yet to find a scripture that enjoins me to, "not bother God with this or that."  Indeed, it's quite the opposite.  We are called to take everything --EVERYTHING  - to Him.

Yeah - it may feel silly and we may feel it is a trivial thing but it is the little foxes that spoil the grapes.  It can be the proverbial straw that crushes the camel.  

His love for us is without limit or condition.  His provision for us encompasses everything in our lives, not just what we think of as, "the biggies."  What harm could there be in praying
about everything in our lives.

Just a simple example.  It was a bad day for me  I was struggling.  I was on the way to the 'Bou and began to be bummed that they might be crowded and that parking would be a pain and that I wouldn't get my favorite "spot."  Stupid huh?  Well, I got there and got a good parking place and my "spot" was open.  This was a real "Wow" for me.  I felt blessed.  He heard and said, "Yes."

Am I nutz to think He was acting?  I can't maintain a healthy view of His sovereignty and at the same time engage in considering coincidence.  What may be a small thing in the whole of salvation can be a big thing in the moment.  

Peter writes:

1 Peter 5:6-7 ESV
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, [7] casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Question,  What part of "all" do we not get?  "All," means, "ALL."  Right?  

Are we "bothering" God when we take everything to Him?  OOuch - that's a dangerous idea.    

It may seem odd at first but I encourage you to yield to the impulse or desire to pray no matter what the issue.  Take everything to Him - thank Him for everything whether you "prayed for it or not.  Please don't consign Him to being just "the God of what I can't do."  Please don't make Him the Gd, "who only cares about the big stuff."

Let Him be the Gd who cares so much He doesn't just know how much hair you have but has counted and created each and every one of them.

We sing, "Crown Him Lord of all."  Let's take that to heart and expect Him to be the Lord of all.  Nothing is trivial!

Father - let me open my life to yu.  Protect me from the lie that You're not really interested in parking places or favorite tables or old cars, etc.   Let me let loose of coincidence and acknowledge that You are Lord of all and therefore I should, can and may bring it ALL to you.

Amen 

Free slaves?!? Faithful Master!!!!

Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.   (1Pe 2:16)

Free!

Free?

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.   (Rom 6:22)

This is the whole of our freedom.

Whether Peter is referring to a freedom from the Law is not certain, but we know that Paul references it:

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.   (Gal 5:13)

We are free from the bondage of sin and free from any pretense that we can in and of ourselves resolve the conflict we had with God when we were still unredeemed. 

We are free but it is not a wide-open freedom rather it is a freedom in Christ, by Christ and for Christ.  What we undertake, that we cannot undertake in His name, is never an act of freedom.

Jesus said:

"Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.  (Joh 8:34-36)

Sin and freedom are mutually exclusive.  We are free from the imposed rule of sin but when we sin, we are submitting to that which has no rights over us.  When we sin, we are re-shackling ourselves – binding ourselves to that from which we have been loosed.

We receive our freedom for we have been redeemed, forgiven, saved.  But though the grace of God has no limits for us, to abuse and misuse it, to rebel against His rightful authority over us, is to bring into question the surety of our redemption. 

Consider:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,   (Heb 12:1)

Forgiven we may be – free of sin’s bondage we may be – but free of Christ, never. 

It is sometimes the way of believers to see themselves so utterly apart from the “world” that they may do or say what they will for they are “saved.”  Yet ours is a freedom that is defined by the One who provided it, the One into whose hands God has delivered all things.

Many use their freedom to vilify unbelievers.  Many use their freedom as a red cape to a bull.  Many use their freedom as an excuse to disassociate from those to whom they are called to witness.  Many use their freedom to – just go along as they have – only avoiding the grosser types of sins.

But this verse has a catch.  We are free – free servants of God.

But – that word “servants” is troublesome.  The “authorities” I regularly consult in my studies hold that it is more accurately translated slave.

One reason for this is quite simply:

for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.   (1Co 6:20)

and 

For he who was called in the Lord as a slave is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a slave of Christ. You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.   (1Co 7:22-23)

We were bought out of our bondage to sin to be the slaves of Christ.  In this we have great freedom – freedom from sin and freedom to serve God as His.

Though it may irritate some, our freedom in Christ is far beyond any freedom a document written by man can give – anyone.  The tough side of our freedom is that we are free to be oppressed, harassed and even killed because of it. 

In chains, on the rack, in dungeons, on desert islands, and even in the flames we are free.  We have to keep in mind that this freedom is not of man and indeed is often opposed by man.   With this freedom we need to accept:

Luk 21:17  You will be hated by all for my name's sake.

Father, help me understand and appreciate my freedom as well as Your ownership of me.  Make me quiet and trusting under Your loving hand.  Teach me, patiently, to be a good and faithful servant.  Teach me Your faithfulness as my Master.

Calm my heart and still my mind with the assurance of Your sovereignty and grace.

Amen