Devotion for Monday, August 29th, 2011
My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing
James tells his reader to count it as joy when we fall into “divers temptations” (various trials). That sounds crazy right. Be joyful about the fact that I’m going through difficult circumstances? That seems a little weird. But James gives a good reason for this statement. He says that when you go through trials, it exercises your faith and the result is patience. When we go through difficult circumstances, it can help us learn how to endure and trust in God to get us through it. The more we do that, the more able we are to handle what we go through. Patience works in us so that we can be “perfect and entire, wanting nothing”. This is another way of saying that we’ll be complete! Our character will grow to be what God wants us to be.
I think this song explains this principle pretty well…
Check out this video:
Application:
Sometimes we think of difficult circumstances as whole seasons of life, and they certain can be that. But we go through things that we may not like on a regular basis. Today, when you get frustrated, aggravated, hurt, or offended remember to “count it joy” and think about how your circumstance can help you trust God more.
Study the Scriptures with Ben Jennings 
umm yh I’m the first to comment and i don’t know what to say! help!
It doesn’t matter if what you say is right or wrong. That is the purpose of doing these devotions together, so we can help each other to grow! What part don’t you get about this, or what’s confusing? 🙂
thanks
Well wat I got out of it was that no matter what happens during life Like a hard time through family or friends (I can name a few) God will always make it right (I can’t think of the right word). Just trust in God and he will Provide!!!:)
That’s right Mackenzie! 🙂 James told us to have joy in our hard times. It’s so hard for sure, but having joy and knowing that God will always be here for us in times of need is amazing! He has a purpose for everything! Good job!
Thanks Mel!!!!;D
The song was a spot on (perfect) example for this passage!
What I got out of this is temptations and hard times can text your faith and help you grow.
Typo (test your faith) lol.
True that man! It’s up to us whether we give into the temptations or fall apart during the hard times, or know that God is doing this for a reason, and that everything will be ok if we trust in Him! Good point Blakey!
That song is a perfect example of what James wrote to the reader (us). When i go through a difficult time i should be asking God “What is your purpose for me going through this” instead of thinking “why me!” Going through things in our life, both good and bad, can help us increase our faith, trust, reliance, and love for God! He has a reason for everything and i know i have to trust Him with everything. If every little thing that goes wrong in a day is going to defeat me, what kinda faith is that? What im applying to my life from todays devos is that when i’m going through something i dont like, i have to truat God that this is all part of the plan for my life! The song “Blessings” says “what if there(circumstances) your mercies in disguise.” God works in mysterious ways for sure & i know trusting God gives me assurance that everything will be okay in the end :)That song is a perfect example of what James wrote to the reader (us). When i go through a difficult time i should be asking God “What is your purpose for me going through this” instead of thinking “why me!” Going through things in our life, both good and bad, can help us increase our faith, trust, reliance, and love for God! He has a reason for everything and i know i have to trust Him with everything. If every little thing that goes wrong in a day is going to defeat me, what kinda faith is that? What im applying to my life from todays devos is that when i’m going through something i dont like, i have to truat God that this is all part of the plan for my life! The song “Blessings” says “And what if trials of this life are your mercies in disguise.” Terrible things that er go through could be the biggest blessings from God! God works in mysterious ways for sure & i know trusting God gives me assurance that everything will be okay in the end 🙂
Wow totally copied what i wrote on accident! My bad, it ends at the smiley face & the second time its written is what was supposed to be sent thru.. Haha 🙂
I totally agree w/ Blake! Tht is exactly right. Like let’s day ur having a bad day and kids r making fun of u. U get upset and is like y is this happening to me? So to test ur faith u believe God will get to through it. He’s done it before ofcourse he can do it again!! 😀
You’re so right girl! Good job! 🙂
What I got out of the passage was that it’s good to be paitent I think…I’m stool not good at this…yet hehe I also agree with Blake and tristian to because if you just believe that god will get you through something he will!!! 🙂
Thts great Mafalda! I’m so proud of u! Watching u grow is amazing to be a part of! 🙂
Thank you it’s cool watching you grow too!! 🙂
🙂
Sorry typo (still*)
I know going through tough times is extremely hard. There are countless numbers of things that can be hard for us. It’s so crazy to think that James told us to have joy during our suffering. I know the first thought that goes through my head is definetley not, “Yes! I’m so happy that I’m struggling through this right now! SCOREEEEE!” Actually it’s the complete opposite, and I’m sure we all feel that way. This passage is SO encouraging! It really blows my mind how God works! I’m in awe everyday because of the things I experience in my life because of Him! Verse 3 says that testing of our faith produces patience. The tests that God throws in our lives is for God to see how much we really love and trust Him. When a hard time comes along we have two options. We can either one, have the attitude of, “God, I can’t do this… I don’t know what you want from me, but I just can’t!” or we can have the willing heart and the faith in God to trust Him, that even though things might be crappy now, there is a brighter tomorrow if we trust God! Life isn’t always easy, but it is a major gift! God gave us the opportunity to live life here on earth, but we need to live it for Him and not us! God rewards us tremndously when we honor Him. Trust me, living a life following God, is the greatest way to spend the one chance at life,here on earth, we’re given!
I know I always need to find joy in hard times because God will ALWAYS catch me when I fall and He has a purpose for everything!! 😀
What I think the devo is talking about is that God has made ipods ipads and more but we should not get cought up in all of that stuff we should take time in his word and to trust in his faith. So what I think is that we should atleast take 10 minutes a day to read the bible and to work on trusting in him. I think that is right! 😐 I luved the song!!!!!!<3 🙂
I’m so proud of all you guys that got on here today and did the devos! Keep it up! 🙂
This passage is a really good one for teens/pre-teens, cause I know we’re all going to go through a lot of hard times! Sometimes it’s really hard to “Count your blessings” when it seems like everything is going wrong! But believe me, it definitely helps! I was going through a hard time a couple months ago, and it seemed like I was far from being happy or joyful! One of the lessons I learned going through that was that no matter what, God will always watch over & protect me! At the times I thought things would never change & I’d be miserable the rest of my life, but God proved me wrong! I wasn’t trusting in Him to get me through it, I thought I could do it by myself. And that led to some poor decisions! But now, looking back, I know everything that I went through happened for a reason, so I’d realize I need to trust God & count my blessings whenever life gets hard! This reminds me of a series we did a while back called “Storm Watch”. Ben said that God uses hard times to get our attention, and draw us closer to Him! It’s soo true!! I kinda just said this before but I’m gonna say it again cause this is where I really messed up! A lot of times it’s so easy to say “I can get myself through this, I don’t need God!” but that’s totally wrong! We NEED God! Whether we’re going through a hard time or not.. Sometimes is takes difficult circumstances to kinda push us more towards God! I hope if any of you are going through a hard time that you’ll lean on God! He’ll get you through it! 🙂
You’re absolutely right Alexis!! I know exactly what you’re talking about, and it did feel like thing weren’t gonna get better there for awhile, but He sure proved us wrong didn’t He! 🙂 you’re growing so much and it’s been amazing to watch and get to be here for you and help you! 🙂 love you girl! 🙂
Ohh yeah, I’m soo glad he did! & thanks 🙂 I love watching you grow too!!
You guys are so right on with your comments. Hard times really do bring us closer to God. It makes us realize how much we need Him.When I’m going through something difficult, I really see how weak I am without God. I don’t know how people that don’t know Jesus can make it in this world. I would feel helpless without Him. We are so blessed that God has allowed us to see the truth.
Hard times always remind me of how much I need God’s love. It was during one of the most difficult times in my life that I knew something was missing and I got saved. If my life had always been easy I may never have realized my need for salvation. So I really do thank God for those
bad times.
When we go through trials, our faith gets stronger and we move closer to God. And that is the best place to be!
I love what you said about how if life was always so easy, you might not have realized your need for salvation! I think that’s a great point! We always try and live life on our own, but we can’t.. We absolutely need Jesus!! Great point!! 🙂
You guys are all saying great answers!! I wanted to add on to something. I know in my life i take everything for granted. Our AC in our house just went out & i was like “wow why now its so hot outside!” but then i remembered how blessed i am to be in a house where its 85 degrees and with fans. Lol makes me feel so spoiled & selfish! The things we go through are so small compared to the great things God has provided for our lives. I need to get off “me” and think about others & the bigger trials they’re going thru! We need to be there for eachother. Im always here to talk!!
God puts us thru hard situations for a purpose most of us don’t understand. But it could be a huge blessing in disguise! 🙂
Amen sister! We may be hot right now, but at least we have a roof over our heads! 🙂 God is soooo good!
I haven’t been on here since this morning, and I can’t tell you how encouraged I was when I got on here today. You guys are doing so great and I’m so proud! You guys made my day.
I do have one question though…Where are the boys?!?!!!?!
Ryan, Blake, and Andrew have been doing good and faithful to it. I’ve seen Ben Catapane a couple of times.
It’s time for the rest of the men to step up!
At least we aren’t in tents with Mosquitos. Ask Melanie!
That was one interesting week!! But good times 😉
Great job everybody! keep up the good work!
Its definitly hard going through hard times but it is so important to have the right attitude. Instead of pouting and throwing a fit look at the big picture and realize that what ever your going through will strenghten you faith. A faith untested is a faith that cant be trusted.
Ok. This is my third attempt. I keep hitting a button and deleting what i say. (a mini-trial lol). As long as we are alive we are going to go through trials and tribulations. I believe we go through trials to show us that we need the Lord and we can’t do it without Him. If we listen we will always learn from a difficult situation. How we decide to handle the trials in our lives is really whats important. I agree with Sandy that when we don’t rely on God during difficult times we have a harder time. I make this mistake often. Things aren’t that easy lately at my house and I don’t always handle it the best. I need to remember its not about me and ask What would Jesus want me to do.
Count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations… This is such a great thing because it is part of the evidence that we are saved and can exercise our faith. Any relationship/friendship will have traials and if we go through them with the attitude of wanting to grow and have a better relationship then it is a joy and we become closer. Same thing applies to our faith and relationship with God. When you are going through trials you also have to learn and know more about your faith so you know what is really true so it caused us to learn about our faith. these trials can make us more like Christ