James 1:2-6

“Consider it pure joy my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”

It is not until we are put under pressure that we can see our true strength of character. We find that being kind to others is easy when everything seems to be going well, but how do you fair when things aren’t going well? God wants us to develop into complete human beings, able to work to be kind in bad and good situations. When we endure through trials it helps us to be able to anticipate mistakes before we make them. Instead of complaining, we can ask God to help us to navigate through the hard stuff with decency and give us patients to continue to grow in all aspects of our lives. God will not leave us alone with our problems, he will stay close and help us through. But we need to remember to turn to him for help and not just our own self. Do you ask God for help in the difficult situations too?

Dear God, I love you. I appreciate how much you try to teach and grow us so that we may be able to get through the difficult times as well as the good times. Give me your wisdom to help others also. I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.