Dr. Dan Hayden •
We live in the information age, and having access to knowledge is what education, and books, and computers are all about.
Over and over in the Bible God says that in order to properly respond to something you need to know what He says about it. For instance in James 1:2-4 it says, “Consider it all joy my brethren, when you encounter various trials…knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
The point is – if you know that God is allowing the trial in order to get you into spiritual shape, then you will more likely be willing to count it all joy.
This word “knowing” is a Greek word which means “to understand something; to comprehend it.” It means to realize what’s going on.
A number of years ago, my father died and left me with the enormous task of handling his estate and non-profit business interests. I had to leave my teaching position at the college and spend all of my time working on things I really didn’t enjoy. It was a tough time – a trial in my life. But I knew these verses in James 1, and almost every day I would meditate on the fact that God was really doing something good in my life. I needed to know that so I could approach each day with a joyful spirit.
So, how about you? Are you counting it all joy in the midst of your trials? You can, if you know that the testing of your faith is helping you to become perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Remember, what you don’t know can hurt you.