Ever have an overwhelming day? Or week? Or month? Or maybe you’re still in the middle of a difficult day right now.  No matter what you’ve gone through, what you’re going through right now, or what you will go through, God will use the difficult days to make you into the person you need to be.

Our household is in the middle of some “difficult days,” so this week’s post will be short and sweet.  My week started with the unwanted stomach flu, which has now turned into our three year old and four month old getting sick as well.  Just when one germ infested area is cleaned up, another shows it’s face!  Everyone is in different stages of sickness, except my wife — who is a trooper.  The house would completely fall apart if she got sick as well!

Much of my pastoral work can’t be delegated and is often timely (ie. Sermon prep for Sunday), so the push is on for me, and Deidre is in the highest motherly-DEFCON mode! Needless to say this week has been challenging to get through.

One of my mentors quite regularly mentioned James 1:2-4 when facing difficult days:

²Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, ³for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. ⁴And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4, ESV)

So we need to celebrate the fact that God desires to mold us into who he wants us to be — “perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” That’s a difficult idea to digest in the moment (it doesn’t really help my frustration), but quite rewarding when looking back.

That said, I find we tend to compare our difficult days with the difficult days of others and disregard our personal struggles when others are going through “worse” days. Because we’re all on different journeys and have experienced different things, it’s impossible to compare stress and trials (even if situations are similar).

Likewise, if you’ve already experienced what someone else is only now experiencing, that means you’ve already grown through it — it should be easier!  But that doesn’t negate the overwhelming day others are having for the first time.

James was encouraging early Christians who were spread out everywhere and who were facing “trials of various kinds.”  That means, everyone was facing something, but everyone wasn’t facing the same thing.  No doubt many were facing life and death situations, and yet others were challenged with the anxiety.

We might relate to James 1 in different ways, but the truth of the text never fails. In every part of our journey, we’ll encounter many trials, but those trials will make us stronger!

No matter what you’re facing right now, these difficult days will help you to become “perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”  And if you have to encounter a similar situation again, the strength gained today, will help bring you through.

Your turn…

What has helped you get through difficult days?

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