Slideshow image

There was once a Pastor who had just finished preaching what he thought was one of the best sermons he had ever preached. He thought about how great it was while driving home with his family. He started to wonder about how many good preachers there were in the world. 

He turned to ask his wife, "How many truly great preachers do you think are in the world right now?" She looked at him and said, "One less than you think!"

I'm not saying that all of us think we are amazing at all times, but there are some things that we believe we are truly good at in life. Maybe it's baking bread, painting, gardening, being a good friend, perhaps we are good parents or any other thing - at some point, we have had a high opinion of ourselves. 

High self-esteem can be a good thing or a bad thing in life. Some people think they are the BEST at EVERYTHING - that can be a problem. Mainly because all of us, as good as we think we are, have things we need to work on in our lives. We have yet to arrive to perfection. 

Regarding our faith, it's quickly apparent that we aren't perfect. If you crack the pages of the Bible and read for more than one minute, you'll most likely feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit challenging you to be more like Christ. 

In the book of James, we come face to face with the shortcomings of our faith. James was writing to people facing severe persecution because they believed in Jesus. He gave them words of encouragement and challenged them to have joy despite their hardships because the challenges would build their faith. 

My friends, be glad, even if you have a lot of trouble. You know that you learn to endure by having your faith tested. But you must learn to endure everything, so that you will be completely mature and not lacking in anything. 

 The Holy Bible: The Contemporary English Version, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), Jas 1:2–4.

In everything that we are good at doing, is having faith during the hard times at the top of the list? 

James is telling his readers that persecution is a test of their faith. He is saying that people find out where they stand with God when the hard times come. Do they get closer or farther away from Him when trials pop up? 

How do we get good at making it through difficulties? You might not like the answer to that question because James tells us we learn to endure by having MORE problems! 

Faith is like a muscle; you must use it to build it! And that's what James is telling us: we may be good at a lot of things, but God wants us to be good at walking in faith. He will allow us to go through things in which we must choose between trusting in Him or trusting in our abilities. 

I encourage you to trust in the Lord. Read His Word, Spend time in Worship, and talk with other believers about how they have walked in faith through the hard times of life. I promise you that if you do, your faith will become stronger.