refinement

Faith in Troubles


We all experience variation in the strength of our faith. If all is well, we feel confident that the Lord is trustworthy, because we see His blessings all around us. But when troubles increase, so do our doubts about God’s faithfulness. We start to wonder whether He will ever answer our prayers for deliverance. As hard as we try, we can’t see Him working in the situation. And as our trials drag on, we begin to lose hope in God and may start looking for more reasonable ways to resolve the matter ourselves. James points us to a different perspective. Instead of thinking that the Lord has forgotten about us, he reminds us of God’s divine purpose for our hardships. They test our faith in order to produce endurance and maturity. Our Father isn’t trying to break us; rather, He wants to grow us and provide what is lacking in our spiritual life.

Commentary from the In Touch devotional by Charles Stanley, May 17, 2018.