In Touch Daily Devotional For September 27, 2023
Read In Touch Daily Devotional For September 27, 2023 – Wedesday Daily Devotional Message Written Dr. Charles Stanley
TOPIC: Trials and Joy
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE: James 1:2-4; James 1:12
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
Thought for Today: Suffering becomes easier to bear when we consider the good gifts God provides through it.
In Touch Daily Devotional 27th September 2023. Charles Stanley is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church Atlanta and founder of In Touch Ministries, both located in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Stanley’s heart’s desire is to get the gospel to “as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, as clearly as possible, as irresistibly as possible, through the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God.
READ MORE TOPICS: OPEN HEAVENS, OUR DAILY BREAD, IN TOUCH, SEEDS OF DESTINY, STREAMS OF JOY, JOEL OSTEEN, MOUNTAIN TOP LIFE, DCLM DAILY MANNA, UCB WORD FOR TODAY