Hello ,
In his sermon on dealing with trials, Nashville pastor Byron Yawn points out: "For most, especially American Christians, even the remotest suggestion that there could be value in our suffering is viewed as uncaring and insensitive. We have been conditioned by our culture to believe the opposite. A collective attitude that exalts comfort and views personal happiness as the end of all things has blurred our perspective. There is no place
for pain in American Christianity.
"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." James 1:2-4
"Because of this distorted perception, we rarely stop to search for the 'hand of God' in the midst of our trouble. Seeking to understand God's purposes in our pain is all but foreign. As a result, embracing pain's role in our sanctification is usually the farthest thing from our minds. As one so aptly put it, 'Most people count it all joy when they escape trials. James said to count it all joy in the midst of trials.' We need to come to grips with a significant
truth: God's will is not always our comfort, but His Glory. The two may, or may not, be directly related."
We have a God that loves us. He knows the end from the beginning, and He understands how challenging life can be. His journey for each of us, is not always to deliver us out of the pain, but to deliver us through the pain, and to be with us in the pain.
Have a great day and God bless!
