Wall-Bangers Anonymous

Read: James 1:1-8

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials. --- James 1:2

The Bible In One Year:
Psalms 57-59
Romans 4

I'll never forget the time during college when, after I had finished writing a big paper that was due the next day, I heard a loud commotion in the room across the hall. My neighbor was in a state of panic, throwing stuff around his room looking for his paper. Frustrated, he banged his fist against the closet and shouted, "Thanks a lot, God. You make life one big laugh!"

I might have given him an A+ for theology --- at least he knew that God was ultimately in charge --- but an F for his response to the problem.

For those of us who get mad at God when life takes a wrong turn, we need a good dose of biblical therapy. So welcome to "Wall-Bangers Anonymous" --- a two-step program toward a positive, God-honoring response to pain.

Step One: Think straight about trouble. It's not only inevitable, it's indiscriminate. Trouble comes in all shapes and sizes. "Various trials" [James 1:2] affect our health, our careers, our relationships. Once we understand the facts, we can begin appreciating their significant value in our lives.

Step Two: Trade resistance and resentment for receptivity and rejoicing. "Count it all joy" [v.2]. The joy is not in the presence of pain but in the knowledge that God is using our pain to refine us and make us better, not bitter. --- Joe Stowell

If we embrace adversity,
Accepting every pain,
Then we will learn what we should know;
Our grief will turn to gain. --- Sper

GOD CHOOSES WHAT WE GO THROUGH; WE CHOOSE HOW WE GO THROUGH IT.