Daily Scripture: James 1:2 Regard it all as joy, my brothers, when you face various kinds of temptations; 3 for you know that the testing of your trust produces perseverance. 4 But let perseverance do its complete work; so that you may be complete and whole, lacking in nothing. 5 Now if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives to all generously and without reproach; and it will be given to him.
Romans 5:1 So, since we have come to be considered righteous by God because of our trust, let us continue to have shalom with God through our Lord, Yeshua the Messiah. 2 Also through him and on the ground of our trust, we have gained access to this grace in which we stand; so let us boast about the hope of experiencing God’s glory. 3 But not only that, let us also boast in our troubles; because we know that trouble produces endurance, 4 endurance produces character, and character produces hope; 5 and this hope does not let us down, because God’s love for us has already been poured out in our hearts through the Ruach HaKodesh who has been given to us.
Reflection Questions:Every life has challenges. Some are minor; others test the very fiber of our being. Jesus' brother James urged Christians to meet life’s tests as “occasions for joy.” And the apostle Paul sketched the spiritual growth process through which every Christ-follower can develop a character that meets challenges, not with despair, but with hopeful awareness of the holy moments they might lead to. God, both apostles said, has the power to bend even bad things to good purposes in our lives. God can give us the wisdom to bring endurance and hope out of our hardest experiences.
- Neither apostle wrote through naïve, rose-colored glasses. Human nature is not at all inclined to view tests as “occasions for joy,” as something to “take pride” in. That’s why they focused on God’s wisdom and love as the divine gifts that can turn our hard times into occasions for growth. When has God given you wisdom to face a tough challenge, or surrounded you with love and support for the strength you needed? In what ways does God's ability to "grow you" through life's challenges help you view hard times differently?
Lord God, keep teaching me to view life your way. Help me learn more and more how to value even the tough, painful times you can use to help me grow in endurance, character and trust. Amen.
Family Activity
Gather your family into the darkest space of your home. Bring a Bible and a very small reading light with you. Discuss how life can be dark and difficult times at times. Ask someone to read John 1:1-5. Describe how just as life can be dark at times, so are our hearts, lives and the world without the light of Jesus. Share how as followers of Jesus, His light lives within us and He wants us to share it with the world with our words and actions. Open the door of the room and celebrate the light of Jesus together! Give thanks to God for the light of Jesus that is with us even in the darkest of times. Commit to sharing the light of Jesus with all people.
Insights from Lori Trupp
Lori Trupp is the Director of Children’s Ministries at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection.
One of the most valuable lessons I learned early on in my faith journey is that pain and suffering are, well, pain and suffering. Stay with me! I participated in a Bible study once that was designed to help us break free from our pain and suffering and turn it over to God. On the first day of the study, the women I was with were invited to share their stories with the group. Their stories were amazing. These women had really been through some tough, tough stuff.
As I sat there, I realized that I had never really been through anything as difficult as some of these women. As I reflected on my times of trial and pain, I found myself comparing my story to theirs. During that process I came to the conclusion that what I had been through in my life simply wasn’t hard enough to even share. I felt like my struggles of infertility, loss, and relationships were small compared to theirs and were therefore insignificant. So I remained silent.
In fact, I remained silent throughout the entire study, continuing to feel that my hurt and pain were insignificant. Several weeks after the study, one of the women who had also participated in the study, one of the women with an incredibly difficult story, called me. She invited me to meet her for coffee. Said she just wanted to follow-up on something with me. Since I was part of the church staff at the time, I figured she wanted to provide some feedback on the format of the study or something, so I agreed to meet with her.
When we met, she didn’t waste any time. She point blank asked me why I never shared my story during the study. And I point blank told her that I thought my story was insignificant compared to everyone else who had shared. My suffering wasn’t difficult enough. She said she had suspected that was the case and told me that was why she wanted to meet with me.
She asked me to share my story, so I did. What she helped me understand is that my story is my story, and that I am part of God’s story. She helped me realize that I was assuming God and others measured my level of faithfulness by my ability to endure high levels of pain and suffering. She reminded me that this line of thinking is simply not true.
God doesn’t think you are more or less faithful because you have endured more or less suffering compared to someone else. He just wants to be in the story–your story, my story, his story. When pain and suffering come, at whatever level, God wants to walk with you, carry you, love you. When happiness and joy come, God wants to walk with you, carry you, love you. There is no measuring stick. You don’t compare it, you don’t earn it, you accept it as the gift it is and live your life sharing it with others.
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224 United States
913.897.0120
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13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224 United States
913.897.0120
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