20240117

the joy of tests

James 1:2-4 (JDV)

James 1:2 Regard it all as joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials,
James 1:3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
James 1:4 And let endurance produce its complete result, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.

the joy of tests

As a student, I dreaded tests because I feared humiliation if I did not do well. But when I became a professor, I started seeing tests differently. They were an opportunity to evaluate me as a teacher and trainer. If I noticed areas where all my students did not perform well, I would alter my teaching methods.

One of the reasons we can rejoice when we face trials as Christians is that we have been taught all we need to face them in confidence. We are designed not to squash troubles like a bug, but to manifest maturity and integrity as we face them. That is what glorifies our creator and discipler.