Read: James 1:2-8 

Have you ever had something difficult happen in your life? Maybe you had a close friend or relative who died or you’ve been very sick yourself. Maybe you feel very lonely because no one wants to be your friend, or maybe you suffer from panic attacks.

These things are various trials that God puts in your life. In this verse we are told to count it all joy when we meet trials. Really? Do you really need to feel joy when you are going through difficult times?

The Lord doesn’t mean that you can’t feel sad and be struggling during these difficult times. Of course you can. What does God mean, then, when he says that we should count it all joy? He means that it is a joy for a Christian to know that God is busy in his life during these trials. He is busy growing your faith. He is using these difficult things to make you grow closer to him. So often we pray more when things are hard. Trials often make us read the Bible more and trust in the Lord more. I’m sure you can remember crying out to God when that friend died, or when you were lonely. Yes, difficult times help us to grow closer to the Lord.

And it is because we are growing closer to the Lord, reading his Word more and concentrating more while praying that we can find joy during trials. It is the fact that we are learning to trust the Lord more that gives us joy.

James says that this learning to trust God more produces steadfastness. By this he means that the more we trust God the more we learn to pray to him, and the more we keep doing these things. And then when the Lord puts new trials in our lives, we can keep trusting the Lord. So yes, you can struggle when you go through hard times, but let those struggles bring you closer to the Lord, and count it joy that the Lord is busy in your life.

Reflection with your child:

Can you think of a time that the Lord has been helping you learn to pray more?

Source: Meditation from Rev. R. Vermeulen