Transcript
Well, I don't know about you, but I just don't like trouble. I don't wake up in the morning and say, "God, my life has been way too easy. Why don't You just send some trouble my way? If You really love me, send me more difficulty." That's just not the way I think about life.
It Does Not Take Much to Upset Me
In fact, I will confess it doesn't take a whole lot for me to get upset. It doesn't take a whole lot of difficulty. I live a pretty blessed life, but I can get irritated about little obstacles, little difficulty in my life, and I just think that for most of us, our view of trouble, our view of difficulty, our view of the tough situation or the tough relationship needs to be biblically transformed.
I just don't think when it comes to trouble, we're on God's agenda page and so, here's where I want to start because I think this is radical for us to get a hold of this concept. God does His best work for you on your worst day. You see, it's very tempting when you're on the worst day you could think of or the worst life moment you can think of, to wonder, "Is God still there? Is He still hearing? Is He still active? Are His promises true," because we tend to think of trouble as being in the way of God's work, rather than part of God's work. We tend to think that trouble somehow argues for God's absence, rather than arguing for God's presence.
Well, I want to take you to a passage that completely blows that away. This is James 1. I love, love, love this passage. I need this passage in my life. "2Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds." What? Be joyful. Be grateful that you have trials in your life.
Now, that's the weirdest, most counter-intuitive view of difficulty. Probably, there are a few times when you have had difficulty in your life and you've said, "Thank you, Jesus, for bringing this difficulty in my life." That's exactly what James is arguing for. He's arguing celebrating difficulty. Why? "3[Because] you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."
Trouble Is a Delivery System
So here's what he [is] arguing. Rather than trouble being an argument for the absence of God, trouble is a delivery system of the good things that a present God wants in your life. Trouble is a delivery system. Trouble is a delivery system. Trouble is a delivery system. Trouble is a delivery system.
The very grace that I pray for, the very maturity that I pray for, the very completeness of character that I long for as a child of God, you know the delivery system of that? The very stuff you don't want in your life is God's delivery system of the very good that you pray for. How's that for a different way of thinking about life? Trouble is a vehicle. Trouble is a vehicle of the good, transforming grace of the Redeemer.
Now, here's what this means. God wants trouble in your life because He knows what trouble alone is able to do in His hands. In the hands of the Redeemer, trouble doesn't produce bad things. Trouble results in glorious, good things. The very thing you don't want is God's delivery system of the very things that you desperately need. That's what the Bible teaches about trouble. God does His best work on your worst day. Maybe the way you think about trouble is just upside down.
