Part 2 of Paul Tripp on James 1:2-4

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trails of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness, And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."  (James 1:2-4)

Tripp's thoughts: "James is saying that the bad things you endure are a tool of a very good thing that God is doing in you and for you. So in the very moment when you and I think we've been forsaken, we're actually being graced with God's rescuing, transforming, and delivering power. And what is it that we're being delivered from? James's answer is clear: we are being delivered from ourselves. It is humbling to admit that the greatest disaster in our lives is not what we suffer, but the sin inside us, which separates us from God and always leads to death. While we tend to be intolerant of hardship and difficulty, God is intolerant of our sin and so he uses hard things to deliver us from it. The only name for this is grace. It's true that grace often comes in uncomfortable forms. When we cry out for grace, we're often already getting it, but it's not the grace of release; it's the grace of rescue and transformation, because that's the grace we really need.

In our suffering God is at work to give us something much better than what we want. He's not content to dispense temporary relief, when eternal change is what we really need. In the zeal of redeeming love, he uses hard tools to produce soft but sturdy hearts, and that's a very good thing. Think of the power in suffering to change us:

1. Suffering has the power to destroy our self-reliance. We were created to be dependent on God and mutually dependent on one another. 

2. Suffering has the power to expose our self-righteousness. We like to tell ourselves that we're spiritually okay, but suffering also exposes the bad things that are still inside of us. In our pain we're irritable, envious, demanding, impatient, doubtful, and angry. Suffering doesn't make us this way, but it draws out what's been inside us already.

3. Suffering has the power to lay waste to our idols. Suffering has a way of exposing what's really dear to us, what we feel we can't live without, and what truly rules our hearts."

Candy's thoughts: I occasionally wonder if CandyceLand readers believe there is too much of a focus on "suffering" on this blog. If so, I guess I plead guilty. I write about troubles with the hope that we will help one another to face our trials together. May we sympathize with our friends and family and learn to find fresh encouragement, and sometimes even necessary correction, in the midst of our worst afflictions. Tripp's words may seem like bitter medicine to those who are already hurting, yet they could be important for us to consider in order to see God's light in a very dark providence.