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All Circumstances Are Trials

When we think of the word “trial,” we often picture a specific type of circumstance – one that is hard, something we would not like to face, a negative thing we have to overcome. The word “trial” certainly has a negative connotation; nevertheless, James says all circumstances are trials.

Today’s passages from James refer to both the trial of want and the trial of plenty. We are familiar with the trial of want; the struggles with feeling like something is missing, the pain of loss, even the malaise of the mundane. 

In the valleys or on the plain of life, it is crucial to see the circumstance as an opportunity to be faithful, depend on God, endure, and win the crown of life. 

The mountaintops of life are traditionally viewed less like a trial and more like a triumph. We think that winning at life is ascending the mountains. But winning is about who we are, not where we are. Mountaintops have dangers of their own and trials to endure. 

On the mountaintop, we must choose a different perspective. “This is only fleeting. It won’t last. Enjoy, but don’t depend on this. Depend on God.” Adopting such a perspective is not easy. Our senses tell us we are winning. We must have the eyes of faith to believe, “This is fleeting, do not trust it.” If we make an idol out of prosperous circumstances, we have lost our way just as effectively as if we have cowered under difficult circumstances.

All circumstances are trials. Tests. Championship games. Olympic trials. The valley, plain, and the mountaintop. Each has its struggle. Each is an opportunity to win gold. Life is not about avoiding one trial for the sake of the other. It is about navigating all trials through a godly perspective. 

God’s perspective challenges us to count it all joy when we meet trials of various kinds. Why? Because the testing of our faith produces steadfastness and its full effect will make us perfect and complete in God, lacking nothing.

Are you currently on a valley, on the plain, or on a mountaintop? Are you facing trials these days? Consider it a joy! Your faith is being tested. Whether everything in life is going smoothly, or when all circumstances around you are saying that you are not enough, you need faith. Realize that you need to trust in God and in his love for you in every circumstance.