Let It Grow
Scripture
“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.”
—James 1:2–5 (NLT)
Nobody enjoys a hard season. But James says something that sounds almost backward. When troubles come, we are to consider it an opportunity for great joy. He isn’t asking us to pretend it feels good. He’s asking us to trust that God is doing something in us through it.
Perspective makes all the difference. If you see your trial as punishment, joy is nearly impossible. But if you see it as training, everything changes. Endurance isn’t built in comfort. It’s built under pressure, the way a runner gets stronger by running. Life in Christ is a marathon, not a sprint. So James says, “Let it grow.” Don’t fight what God is developing in you.
“It doesn’t matter, really, how great the pressure is; it only matters where the pressure lies. See that it never comes between you and the Lord; then, the greater the pressure, the more it presses you to His breast.”¹
— Hudson Taylor
Taylor spent most of his life as a missionary in China, so he knew something about pressure. His point is simple. You usually can’t control how heavy the load is. What you can decide is where it sits. Pressure can come between you and God, or it can press you closer to Him. When it presses you closer, endurance grows, the things of this world loosen their grip, and joy starts to take root, even in the middle of the hard thing.
And when you don’t know what to do next, ask. James says God is generous with wisdom and will never shame you for asking. So don’t just pray for relief. Pray for wisdom, for endurance, and for a deeper awareness that He is with you. Whatever you are facing today, don’t let it come between you and Him. Let it press you closer, and let your endurance grow.
Reflection
- How might your perspective on suffering change if you viewed it as an opportunity for growth rather than punishment?
- What challenges in your life right now might God be using to strengthen your endurance for the race ahead?
- What wisdom do you need to ask God for in your current season?
Prayer
Ask God to help you see your trials through His eyes. Pray for wisdom and for endurance that produces lasting joy, and thank Him for strengthening you every step of the way.
Footnote
¹ Hudson Taylor, quoted in Dr. and Mrs. Howard Taylor, Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret (London: China Inland Mission, 1932).