GPBC Blog

By Lou Snyder--

James 1:12 “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.”

Being a follower of Christ since I was young, I have been aware of the many promises God has given that we can find in Scripture. But several years ago, when life began to be filled with many trials for Ed and me (numerous health concerns, financial insecurities, losses of loved ones, emotional strains….), I would read verses like James 1:12 and, to be honest, I wasn’t really excited about receiving a “crown of life” if I “stood the test” — I just wanted the test to end. I wanted a way of escape from the trial, not a way through the trial with a prize at the end.
 
Ed said something to me a while back when I was bemoaning the “problems” we were facing. He said, “They’re not problems, they’re OPPORTUNITIES." I believe he was referring to the fact that whatever we’re going through, it is those events that are an OPPORTUNITY to see God at work and enable us to live out our faith; to see whatever the challenge is as something that can mature us if we let God do His work in our lives. It recognizes that every situation has the OPPORTUNITY to bring about something positive (such as growth leading toward maturity, more trust in God, empathy with others, and especially God being glorified). How we use that OPPORTUNITY depends on whether we’re willing to let God do His perfect work in us (James 1:3,4) or if we “kick against the goads” (Acts 26:14).

In thinking about the situation depicted in the Old Testament book of Nehemiah, we see what the people of the nation of Israel were going through trying to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. We can see that the challenges they faced were daunting, and yet they continued to build the wall. It was difficult, physical work, and, as they built the wall, they were mocked by their enemies and in danger of attack. But they asked for God’s help and they kept building.

How we handle our own individual difficult times has an impact on us. And it has an effect on others who may be watching us -  often in ways we may not know. People are watching you (and me) and observing how we live our lives in the midst of challenges.  

Spoiler Alert: If you haven’t read ahead in the book of Nehemiah that we’ve been studying on Sunday mornings, you may not yet know more about the outcome of the story. In Nehemiah 6:15 & 16 we read, “So the wall was completed….When  all our enemies heard about this and all the surrounding nations saw it, they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.” The enemies recognized it was God who helped the people rebuild the wall.

May we encourage each other to face our difficult OPPORTUNITIES in such a way that we trust God to help us get the task done, whatever it is He has called you to do. Don’t give up when difficult OPPORTUNITIES present themselves in your life! God has a plan (whether or not you understand what that plan is at the time you’re presented with the challenge). How you handle that challenge may be just the OPPORTUNITY that God can use to cause others to see His glory. And wouldn’t that be worth any difficulty we face?

MAY GOD BE GLORIFIED IN HOW WE HANDLE OUR DIFFICULT OPPORTUNITIES!!