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"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" (James 1:2-4).


We are having a significant ice storm in our region with lots of closures. Thankfully we can adjust our schedule and work from home though we lost power for awhile this morning while preparing this message. But thankfully we are now working in the light again and replacing words that we lost (due to Brooksyne's back-up battery system not working.)

Two large oaks in front of our house are bowing low to the ground due to their added layers of snow and ice. We feel inclined to go out and shake off the snow and ice from the trees within reach to "help" lift the extra wintery load they carry today. But we will resist that idea since, in doing so, we will likely cause more damage. The tension we add by shaking the branches may very well snap the limbs, resulting in the very thing we are trying to prevent. We'll just hold steady till the temperatures rise and the ice slowly melts. It's likely that the majority, if not all our trees, will be fine once the storm lifts. (We will report in several days when we have a melt!)

Although not a perfect analogy there is a parallel here in regard to the trials in our lives. We want to avoid trials as much as possible. I've often stated that we can't choose the kind of trials we have or schedule them. Now certainly, in some situations, there are solutions that can alleviate the pain of the trial but we must be careful not to take shortcuts that may short circuit God's overall plan. Shortcuts might cut down the time required for our destination, but we might miss some very important information along the way.

Our daily Scripture provides a familiar but much needed perspective on life and trials: "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."

Today some of you are going through an extended trial.  The Greek word for "trial" that James uses is very interesting. "Peirasmos" conveys a "putting to proof" or by implication, "adversity". These times of testing are difficult but necessary in proving our faith in God to be genuine and effective.

James tells us to "consider it all joy". You may be thinking, "Experiencing joy and enduring a trial is like mixing oil and water." Brooksyne often makes homemade salad dressings that call for olive oil, vinegar and water. They initially separate, but when she shakes the mixture vigorously the result is a very pleasing and tasty blend that coats the greens and pleases the palate.

Even as mixing oil and vinegar may be an unnatural mix, the blend of joy and trials sounds like juxtaposition. Take the shortcut and focus only on the pain involved and you'll miss God's perspective on this subject. He has much to teach us in the midst of a trial; He has much to model for us in the Scriptures; He wants to prove His love is present as we endure and He wants us to learn the blessing of endurance, a cousin to longsuffering that's listed among the nine fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:22,23. One more thing: He wants us to model a Biblical response to trials so that we are an example to others and most especially our own family.

Our desire to "help" the trees will likely have a detrimental effect. This is also true when we take an unbiblical shortcut to alleviate the trial God has foreordained. We must consider this truth as well when we want to alleviate the suffering our children and other loved ones may need to endure as God is working in their lives. Sometimes we find that scenario to be even more painful than our own trial. We must let the trial and its lesson of endurance take full effect in our lives.

We encounter various trials
    that test our faith.
        which produces endurance.
               endurance has its perfect result (full effect, complete work),
                    so that we may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

So today we urge you to endure and sing along with us,



Be encouraged today,


Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Daily prayer: Father, we pray that You will help us to grow in Your grace and knowledge, that we will continue to mature in our Christian walk.  Scripture, repeatedly, indicates that spiritual maturity is a result of enduring trials of various kinds.  In the midst of these trials Your soft prompting or guidance through Scripture, through other believers, and through the circumstances we face can easily be ignored when self gets in the way. Today we make every effort to add to our faith those characteristics that will sustain and grow us in our Christian walk. In doing so we will be effective and productive in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, during times of ease but even more so during times of difficulty. Keep us faithful and keep us growing, in the name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.

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"Like A River Glorious"  Video  Jeff Hardin

"I Can Just Be Me"  Video  Laura Story

"When Trials Come"  Video  Keith & Kristyn Getty

Finally today, a liitle humor: