To Come This FarSample

"Growth only comes when the rain falls."

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
- James 1:2-4 (NIV)

The hardest part about growing is the process of actually growing. With growth comes change, discomfort, uncertainty, and a fear that the result may not be worth what we went through to get there. Growth requires extra effort and makes us face things about ourselves that we’d rather ignore. The craziest thing about growth is that as hard as it can be, it is so critical to becoming who we were placed on this earth to be.

If you struggle with seeing the joy in your trials, I want to remind you that you’re not alone. EVERYBODY struggles with this.

This is the challenge that God places on us all so that we can remember even in our most challenging times that God is still working things out for our good. The verse above promises us completeness. It promises us that perseverance will leave us not lacking anything, not because of who we are, but because of who God is. Finding joy in our trials is a battle we can lose more often than we’d like to admit. But that’s what’s amazing about God and the promise we read here: God did not call us to be perfect… He called us to be perfected. Let his work perfect you today.

When we persevere and find joy in trials as this verse calls us to do, our growth then becomes living proof of what God can do in the life of an obedient heart! How cool is that?! Your trial serves as a testimony to the greatness of God and can help others grow through their trials.

Embrace the trials of life today with a smile! Know that they are crucial to becoming the complete person you are meant to be. Focus on how you react; thank God for a life that allows you to feel and experience things. And remember… growth only comes when the rain falls.