Trials, With God, are Better Than Gold!

In the Bible, the Book of James, Chapter 1, verses 2-4 state this:

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:2-4

Here is a question, how can trials be joyful when trials tend to be so painful?  Some people I know are going through physical trials, many financial, some both--while others go through trials like loosing their love ones.  How can the Bible state that when all kinds of trials come there should be joy?  The answer, for the Christian, is that God is in total control of each and every trial, knowing full well in His infinite wisdom that the trial facing the Christian is the best thing for them at  this time (see Romans 8:28-39).  How can that be so?

You see, James is writing to people who have trusted the Lord with their life.  These people can go through their life here on earth knowing that God is making them more like Jesus Christ.  James is reminding them of this important truth.  Therefore these people can rejoice through their trial and not be fretful like the world around them who have no certain hope.  In fact, not only can they have joy James says, but also the knowledge that the trials that they are experiencing are trials designed by God for a purpose--to make their faith in Him stronger!  The end game is that the Lord wants to make them a mature, complete Christian--one who is not only totally trusting in Christ for their salvation from sin, but also for their daily lives.  These people, as God perfects them in Christ, will in the process be a wonderful testimony to their neighbor who doesn't know Christ and the God of Heaven!  Notice what the Apostle Peter writes in 1 Peter:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith--more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:3-9

My question to you is not are you going through a trial right now, but are you going through a trial with the Lord Jesus as the Captain of your soul?   All people go through trials because we live in a sin cursed world, but only those whose faith is in Christ can go through trials knowing that the end result will be better than gold!
I close with what James says later in chapter one:

Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. James 1:9-12

Pastor Steve
Psalm 119.89