When Trouble Comes, Consider it An Opportunity for Great Joy!

"Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles 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…" James 1:2-4 (NLT)


Do you ever take the time to watch the sun rise or set? I especially like to take time to watch the sun when I am on vacation. I always enjoy the glory of that giant yellow ball on the horizon, but the days that this becomes a spectacular view of glorious spreading colors is when there are clouds in the sky.

Clouds have been given a bum rap, but all along, these predictors of bad weather, these symbols of negativity, sadness, blues, and gloom really serve to expand light, reflect color, cast dazzling rays, and paint incredible scenes in the sky. A sunrise without clouds is like a life without trials and hardships.

I do all I can to avoid challenges and difficulties, but the fact is the so called "clouds" in my life can cast me in a certain aura of God's splendor. Truth is, the people I respect and admire most are those whose lives have been filled with "clouds" but they walk through any weather with God.

These people walk in splendor, surrounded with a certain attractive and hard-to-capture beauty. They are people I seek out on a regular basis. I pursue them because I want to bask in their glow and confidence. They leave me in awe. It is in their presence I realize God can shine His light through the clouds in our lives to show us His glory.

As you go in prayer this week, take time to give thanks for the struggles in your day; give thanks that God is with you in difficult times; praise Him for the promise to see you through. May your spirits rise in joy as your faith is tested.