Consider it pure joy when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4
You know that for muscles to get stronger, they first have to be weakened. The muscle fibers tear down and then build themselves back up in order to be stronger than they were before. Our spiritual lives often work the same way--to get stronger we must first get weaker.
The verse above encourages believers to not be discouraged by the setbacks of struggles and trouble. James says that difficulties will come “when you face trials.” He said when, not if. We don't have to smile our way through our struggles (that would be weird), James does challenge us to look at them as an opportunity for joy and growth. James is showing how God uses trials to help us build emotional and spiritual muscles in our lives: The experiences that bring distress and trial often make us stronger in the long run.
We can turn struggle into times of reflection and learning, allowing them to teach us. It's through struggle that we mature in our faith and are able to show our true colors. What we see as times of trial and challenge, God uses to help us develop character and the fruit of the Spirit.
Building godly character isn't usually easy, in fact, it usually involves struggle. It's just part of the Christian journey. But we have the promise and hope that Jesus walks with us the whole time. He doesn't leave us on our own to handle things by ourselves. He is walking with us, guiding us, strengthening us, and helping us build character and perseverance so we can stay strong.
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