From the Pastor

Good for Me?

I like the way that the New American Standard Bible translates the first chapter of James. Verses 2 and 3 tell us three things about the problems we all face.

Problems Help Us (They are good for us)
Consider it all joy...when you enter various trials...
I believe that verse tells me that problems are good for us. Why should we be glad when we face problems? Because problems give us opportunities to develop into the people God wants us to be. God teaches us lessons as we deal with problems. Sometimes we go through similar experience a number of times until we finally learn the lesson.

Problems Help Us to Trust the Lord
...knowing that the testing of your faith...
Problems give us opportunities to make decisions and we choose to make God honoring decisions or to make easy decisions with negative consequences. These problems help us discover if we have really learned the lesson of life and are willing to do things God's way.

Problems Help Build Strength
...produces endurance.
Just as you build endurance when you exercise, you build spiritual endurance when you workout against the problems of life. Every problem becomes an opportunity to build spiritual strength as we deal with the problem in a godly manner.

Problems are God's Refining Fire
How easily we sing worship songs like Refiner's Fire and forget that God uses problems in our lives as His Refiner's Fire to help us become what He wants us to be.