James 1:2-3 NKJV
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
James said that we could count it all joy when we ran into tests knowing this….. We cannot consider it a joy to go through a test if we don’t know this….The test is an opportunity to grow spiritually. But it is not the test that makes us grow. It is our attitude during the test, our response to the test, and our perspective after the test. We don’t know where we are until we are tested. If we really want to grow, we use the test. We allow the Lord to teach us and train us. If we do not do well, we strengthen ourselves and prepare for the test we know will come again so we can pass it the next time. Our response at the end is not “Here we go again!” It’s “Here we grow again!” We count it all joy.