As I stop to reflect on this past week, I realize that myself and so many others in my life, are going through a series of various trials. The kind of trials, that without faith, could potentially break someone.

As most of you know, I’m fighting cancer, a failing thyroid, dealing with a heart problem and now suffering from multiple muscle/cartilage tears in my shoulder from a sports injury. A brother of mine recently lost a son, and even though I don’t have children, I realize how painful & deep this wound is. Two of my brothers are in a protracted fight with cancer, and I see the weight of that journey on their faces and in the eyes of their family & friends. Another brother nearly lost a child, and they’re still fighting trying to restore her health. I learned of another brother this afternoon that was in a tragic motorcycle accident, and headed into surgery. My Mom had to say goodbye to a close friend this week, as their days draw short & they prepare to leave this earth. I could keep going, the list of trials, pain and suffering, grows everyday.

James 1:2 (ESV)
[2]  Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, [3] for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

But, God’s been teaching me something over this last week, He’s been laying on my heart the lessons of His Grace and Mercy. If we’re being honest, most of us struggle to find joy in times of tragedy or trial. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned over this last year, that in times of trial, if anything, our faith should grow. A growing faith calms our mind, soothes our soul and draws us into a deeper relationship with God.

I was reading a devotion tonight from Dr. David Jeremiah – he writes, “No one wants to face anxious moments or difficult days. The strain is something greater than we can bear alone. But we can lean on Jesus, cast our cares on Him, claim His promises, and let Him carry us through the burden.”

All week long, God has been impressing upon me two distinct concepts – Grace, a reward or blessing that is not deserved and Mercy, the withholding of punishment that is deserved. You see God gave us Grace by not condemning us to death because of our sin, He then showed us Mercy through Christ, who took upon Him ALL of our sin, canceling our punishment (forever) at Calvary with the shedding of his blood. One of my pastors stated it very eloquently this morning, explaining, “God does not remember your sin.”

I always kind of laugh and remark, what a great sense of humor that God has. I’m incredibly sarcastic & a bit of a joker (if you hadn’t noticed). And that’s exactly how God relates to me. He allows me to find the humor & the irony in all things, and He makes me laugh. One of the ways He relates to me is, He understands I’m a slow learner, and He has to hit me with the message several times and in several different ways. For example, I share this story a lot – prior to the last couple of months, before my health derailed me, I was reading five or six devotionals a day, plus spending time in the Word (the Bible). Now these books are written by different authors, at different times, with different publishers. But yet in a single day, there would be a theme, with the same scripture showing up among three or four or five of these devotionals. Then I might go to a Bible study and that same topic would pop up in the Bible study. You can call that coincidence, and if it happens once, maybe twice, sure I’d concede that. But when it happens day after day, that’s not coincidence, that’s a “God thing”. You’ll hear me say this a lot, God has a plan and purpose in all things, and that’s how He shows it to me (Romans 8:28).

So, as I’ve been working through trying to get back in a habit of doing daily devotions and attending church again (after stepping away for the last couple of months), I found myself going to three different churches. They’re all a little bit different, they all have different cultures, and the pastors are very different in their background and style. But at the end of the week, after going to all three churches, there’s been two distinct messages. The concept of finding joy in trials, and realizing that God loves me so much, that He’s given me Grace and Mercy through His son Jesus Christ. 

There’s that sense of humor again!  It wasn’t enough to tell me at one church service, God had to tell me at a second church service, and then confirm it at a third church service. And then, to make sure that I really got the point, have it be a theme all week through my devotions. I hear you Abba, I hear you!

So now hear me friends – we live in difficult days, grieved by various trials (1 Peter 1:6-7), but if we cast our cares on Jesus & lean into Him, He will carry us through. We can find joy in those trials, knowing His light will shine brighter through our suffering and may light the path for others also struggling (1 Peter 4:12-13).

Jesus Christ will appear again in glory, and when He does so the saints will appear with Him … and the more they have been tried the more bright they will then appear. – Matthew Henry

The only way I know to find joy and grow your faith is to pray, lay your troubles at Jesus’ feet and spend time in the Word.

May your faith grow by trials (I know mine is)!

-shawn