I was reading a commentary on James recently. It seems like many folks are going through crushing trials right now so I just want to share some good nuggets to remember when you feel overwhelmed. If we are children of God, we are to count trials as joy. Yes, joy. In the middle of it, that very thought can make us angry and frustrated. How hard it is to find joy in the middle of disaster, when our world seems to be falling apart! But we have to remember that God is sovereign. He has a plan and purpose for those who love Him, and He can use any situation to help us grow and bring glory to Him. He is preparing us to have complete patience and faith in the days ahead, which will no doubt be darker. If you are going through it, whatever the it may be, reach out to Him. He can take the anger, the questions, and the fears. Go to Him, lay it all at His feet, and let Him comfort you and get you through it one step at a time. He is the only One who truly can.

Anyway, y’all help me remember that too when I need to hear it!

Matthew Henry commentary snippits on James 1:1-12:

• The devil endeavours by sufferings and crosses to draw men to sin and to deter them from duty, or unfit them for it; but, as our afflictions are in God’s hand, they are intended for the trial and improvement of our graces.

• When we bear all that God appoints, and as long as he appoints, and with a humble obedient eye to him, and when we not only bear troubles, but rejoice in them, then patience hath its perfect work.

• There must be no wavering, no staggering at the promise of God through unbelief, or through a sense of any disadvantages that lie on our own part.

Friends, we are being prepped for the battles ahead. Now is the time to dig deep and fight today’s attacks with the full armor of God. This is how we grow into the soldiers He is calling us to be. Stay vigilant against the enemy’s attempts to trip you up, look up and find the joy, and always, always, be…

Fully immersed in The Scarlet Letters.