“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” James 1:2-4
As we looked at yesterday, God uses suffering in our lives to show us that He is truly all we need. For the apostle Paul, being in prison, beaten, and bleeding WITH Jesus was way better than being a free man without Jesus. And that same thing is true for us today. It is better to suffer and HAVE God than it is to live an easy life on earth WITHOUT God.
Paul wasn’t the only guy in the Bible who experienced this lesson or taught this truth. James said nearly the exact same thing in James 1:2-4.
He said, “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”
Did you see what he said? He said, consider it great joy whenever you experience great trials… why? Because the trials in your life will lead you to “lacking nothing.”
Do you understand how powerful that is? Imagine needing NOTHING in life. When you get to the place where Jesus is all you need, you can go through anything in life, any set of circumstances, and you are okay because you have Jesus by your side.
There is nothing more powerful than having the Creator of the Universe in your corner. And you know what? You have access to that all the time. God will never leave you. He is always there. When you recognize that you already have all that you need, you will realize you are lacking nothing.