“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
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The Oklahoma City Thunder took a chance when they drafted a young point guard from Serbia named Nikola Topic. They knew he had a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and would miss the entire 2024-25 season, but the decision is highly regarded by most experts because most athletes recover well from this type of surgery after rehabilitation. Nikola is an outstanding passer and shoots well, so after some time of recovery and learning the way things are done in the Thunder organization, he is expected to be a major contributor during the 2025-26 season and into the future. If he doesn’t waste his time, his suffering will hopefully turn into even more strength and maturity, and greater contribution as a player.
I, too, am experiencing a bit of suffering. Recently, a nurse asked me how I was doing as she walked with me into the prep room for surgery. I wanted to either express my frustrations or say something spiritual — or go back home — but I simply said, “I’m here.” As I spoke those words, I knew in my heart that God was with me even if the surgeon accidentally nicked my vocal cords while removing part of my thyroid. I knew God would teach me something important through this experience, but I didn’t want to be there. I wanted to get back to my regular schedule and not deal with any health issues. At the same time, I was very grateful to God because I’ve had very few health problems for 60 years; even this problem is probably temporary and I’ll soon be back to preaching.
In most cases, I’d rather talk about Jesus or tell a life story about somebody more interesting than me, but God is reminding me of some important truths in this moment. I will share some of them to hopefully release some of the nervous energy I have as I follow the doctor’s orders to do as little as possible for three weeks. As I write, I don’t feel grown up, but this ordeal is bringing me closer to spiritual maturity. As King David said, God is present with me in sickness as well as in health. “The Lord sustains them on their sickbed and restores them from their bed of illness” (Psalm 41:3).
Will we turn into a bitter or a better person when we go through struggles? If we keep in mind that God is improving our character through these tough times, we can come out on the other side with a positive perspective. “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).
Through these types of experiences, we learn to trust God because we’ve seen God do it before, and we know He can do it again. Even though we didn’t want to go through this day, God brings something good out of it. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
When we find salvation in Christ, God will eventually bring us to Heaven, but first He takes us through a process to make us more like Jesus. It won’t happen instantly, but God will complete the work. “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). In the meantime, the Lord reminds us to cooperate with Him as He reshapes us. “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Romans 5:3-4).
Suffering does not have to be wasted time. That isn’t to say it can’t feel hard and maybe even sad, but God can do something in and through you even in the hardest times. When you take on that perspective in the midst of struggles, you will experience the patience that produces perseverance that produces character. And soon enough, you will stand in a new measure of maturity, strength and hope and know that He is working in it all.
— Bill Kent, Pastor of Memorial Baptist Church, Sylvania, Georgia
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