You enter Baskin Robbins on a hot, humid, high temp, summer day in Texas! You spend multiple minutes examining, tasting samples. Silent or audible groans; a choice must be made. Yes! You make the final decision! The mouth begins to salivate. Oh, how long will it take before your taste-buds are satisfied with the most lavishing ice cream experience ever!
The wait time includes innumerable scoops before you get that bowl/cone in your happy hands. The scoops begin at the surface of your ice cream selection. Before completing the order, the scooping artist must go deeper and deeper into the barrel. An eternity passes as you wait for the final scoop. The wait time feels painful. However, the final product is worth the wait!
Thoughts of this scooping process flooded my mind during a recent, challenging issue with my husband. Ok God, I know your word tells me to “consider it joy when I face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” James 1:2-3 (NIV). God help me see this as an opportunity to grow and mature, instead of fretting and complaining that things would be fine if he saw the issue from my point of view. I was able to allow the Holy Spirit to give me understanding and to se the situation from His point of view. I grew from the trial.
Now I can move on in peace and joy. Not so! Within just a couple of days, the same challenging issue brought another trial. I could literally ‘feel’ the hurt and pressure weigh heavy on my spirit. “Why is this happening again Lord? I thought I learned my lesson the first time. What did I do wrong?” I asked the Lord to give me strength to learn from this situation and hear what He had to teach me. My flesh wanted to complain and diffuse blame to my husband. God did answer my cry for help.
“Bonnie, repeated trials are like scoops of ice cream that go deeper and deeper to get the desired result. It is not necessarily because you have failed again. Spiritual growth pains result in a deeper relationship with Jesus and with another person.
James does say to “count it joy when you face trials” as in multiple trials. I know you can relate to experiencing various trials in your life. Know that God can bring hope and perseverance from the trials. Thus, the command to “count it all joy.” Joy is produced as we trust God as we go through various trials.
