Dr. Charles Stanley 27 September 2023 In Touch Daily Devotional
You are welcome to Today’s In Touch Daily Devotional written by Dr Charles Stanley and published by In Touch Ministry. Charles F. Stanley is the founder of In Touch Ministries and a New York Times best-selling author. He demonstrates a keen awareness of people’s needs and provides Christ-centered biblically-based principles for everyday life.
Today’s Topic: Trials and Joy
Suffering becomes easier to bear when we consider the good gifts God provides through it.
Scripture: James 1:2-4; James 1:12
2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
In Touch Daily Devotional – Dr. Charles Stanley 27 September 2023
Today’s passage says, “Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials” (v. 2). What a preposterous statement! Do you know anyone who thinks joy and trials fit together? But James is presenting God’s perspective—not a human one. Suffering has some surprising benefits that aren’t readily apparent to most people.
It’s important to realize these verses are not telling us to be happy in our pain but rather to rejoice in the blessings that accompany suffering. The word consider means “to regard.” When we look at hardships from God’s perspective, we can rejoice in the beneficial outcome, even while experiencing pain.
For many, understanding the purpose of trials makes rejoicing easier. The Lord wants adversity to test our faith and produce endurance and spiritual maturity. In every hardship, He has hidden a beautiful and precious reward, but whether we receive it depends upon our response. Those who really want to be transformed into the image of Christ can rejoice in the good that will result from hard circumstances.
Does your hunger to know the Lord and be transformed by Him exceed your dread of distress? None of us want to experience pain, but since it’s an unavoidable reality in this fallen world, why not respond in a way that produces eternal benefit? Let’s not waste our suffering.
Bible in One Year: Habakkuk 1-3
Read More Daily Devotional Message on DAILYDEVOTIONAL
