Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. (James 1:2-3).

Well, this is a dangerous passage.

I start talking about the benefits of difficult times, and God decides to illustrate the point in your life, and…Uh Oh.

But here it is, so here we go.

I am not the man James would have me be.  Sorry, James.  No matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to muster up joy when, “Trials of many kinds” hit.  A grudging acceptance?  Maybe.  But joy?  Not even the impure kind, I’m afraid.  Frankly, I would like this particular verse better if James had said, “Consider it a horrific nightmare…but grit your teeth and endure it anyway.”

I ran cross country in high school, and my coach had a fairly wide sadistic streak in him.  He used to send running through places like Death Hill and Bloody Ridge and The Plains of Endless Discomfort.  We ran mile after nasty mile in heat, in cold, in rain, in pain.

I didn’t like those runs.

But I liked the results.

By the end of the season, I was more than I had been at the beginning.

In that, there was joy.

I hope you don’t encounter trials today, Beloved.  I kinda like you, and I’d just as soon not see you in pain.  But it’s not my call, and God has long since proven that he knows more than Michael.

So when the trials come—James never said “If”—embrace them as a gift designed to make you stronger.

I’m sorry it hurts.

So is God.

But hold tightly to him, know that he loves you, and let him take you through.

Not around…through.

See you on the other side, Beloved.