Accepting trials as a lowly believer

Accepting trials as a lowly believer

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. – James 1:2

James 1:9-12

 9 Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them.

 10 And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field.

 12 God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward, they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

“Adversity happens to everyone but it doesn’t need to derail our lives. Learning how to overcome adversity is a life skill that everyone must master. We need to learn how to handle it in a way that will bring us to the other side without exhausting us” (Tony Robbins).

There are challenges and setbacks when we set out to achieve something worthwhile. But these various difficulties serve to make us better. Edmund Burke wrote, “He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper.” We can develop a tool kit, a strategy for dealing with adversities.

Tony Robbins provides excellent counsel on developing the life skills to overcome adversity.

1. Be prepared

Train your brain to be resilient by building your inner strength and developing a growth mindset. Develop a support system that you can fall back on.

2. Practice positivity

We overcome adversity by developing a new mindset. It is how the way they frame the things that happen to them than the actual things that happen. Positively reframe the problem. Catch negative self-talk and replace it with empowering beliefs that help you work toward your goal rather than undermine it. 

3. Stay disciplined

Develop a strategy and practices for adversity. 

4. Stay focused

Keep your eye on the prize. Stay focused on your ultimate goal no matter what.

5. Find the lesson

Realizing that life happens for you, not to you, is key to overcoming adversity. Every event in your life can teach you something. Those who blame their circumstances on others will fail. Take responsibility.

6. Work on your skills

There is always room for improvement. Overcoming adversity is about taking an honest look at your own knowledge and skills, acknowledging your shortcomings, and working to improve them. 

7. Learn from others

There’s no shortage of examples of overcoming adversity. Proactively feed your mind and spirit the same way you feed your body.

8. Elevate your peer group

Surround yourself with people who also want to grow. “The quality of a person’s life is most often a direct reflection of the expectations of their peer group.” You are whom you hang out with.

9. Get a coach

A Results Coach helps people learn how to overcome adversity and become the best version of themselves. Overcoming adversity takes just the right blend of positivity, realism, passion, and real-life skills. C

10. Don’t give up

“Persistence overshadows even talent as the most valuable resource shaping the quality of life” (Tony Robbins).

The Father provides the ultimate strategy for dealing with and overcoming adversity and shows us the way through the book of James.

James sets forth the proper attitude toward our various trials (James 1: 2-3). The appropriate attitude is joy. The Father uses trials to develop spiritual maturity in the children of the King. We are to accept trials properly.

James sets forth a path for success that goes against our inherent human DNA. We are to consider our trials a form of exaltation! (Zane C. Hodges).

“There is no higher honor than to be the object of God’s gracious and loving concern” (Zane C. Hodges).  

REFLECT & PRAY

Children of the King must maintain an eternal point of view and soar above our momentary light effect (2 Corinthians 4:17).  

Father encourage me to focus on eternal values, not temporary ones and rejoice in the difficult circumstances of life.

INSIGHT

James provides counsel for both the poor (lowly) and the rich.

James 1:9-10

 9 Believers, who are poor, have something to boast about, for God has honored them.

 10 And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field.

The Greek word translated as poor, lowly, or of humble circumstances is tapeinos. Tapeinos connotesbeing low or inferior in social position or quality. Those who are tapeinos have trivial power or significance, lowly, poor, or undistinguished. They are of low degree, the opposite of wealthy, affluent, privileged, or powerful.

The “lowly brother” is a child of the King who is of low position, poor, and undistinguished. They are considered low on the totem pole in society and live in modest circumstances. I have very little in the way of material possessions.

Temporal wealth is fleeting and ephemeral, while our eternal treasures go on forever. The poor are exhorted to rejoice in eternal things, not temporal things. This is a significant paradigm shift for fallen human DNA. However, the Father promises eternal treasures that can never be lost. “Christians with the least amount of earthly wealth are richer than the wealthiest of this world. Christians calculate their wealth in terms of eternity, not time; in terms of God’s operating assets, not a given amount of mutual funds” (Richison).

“When we assume God’s viewpoint on values, we broaden our perspective and elevate ourselves above our present situation. If we own very little riches in this life, we still can rejoice because of our eternal possessions. There is a day coming when no one will put us into a class distinction because of what we own or do not own. Poverty will not last long; it will not enter into the eternal state” (Richison). The least among the child of the King is greater than the rich and famous, the powerful of this present age.

Matthew 11:11 I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he is!

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© Dr. H 2022