June 12, 2025 • 38 mins
What if God allows pain in our lives to invite us to deeper joy? Join Ellen and Taylor as they chat through James 1:2-4 and challenge the idea that trials and joy are mutually exclusive.
Scriptures mentioned:
- James 1:2-4
- Matthew 16:24-26
- Romans 5:1-5
- James 1:5
- 2 Timothy 1:7
- Matthew 11:28-30
Ellen's Bible: ESV Key Word Study Bible
Taylor's Bible: CSB Spurgeon Study Bible
BibleHub
Join our community! If you are a Christian woman seeking to know God deeper, study Scriptures, pray with and for others, strengthen your faith, and support other in doing the same, this is the place for you.
Want to study God's Word for yourself? Try our In-Depth Bible Study Academy
Click here to try a free mini-course!
📫 Subscribe to the Coffee and Bible Time newsletter
🤝 To support the work of Coffee and Bible Time, donate here
💗 See what Ellen, Taylor, Ashley, and guests are loving on Amazon
https://coffeeandbibletime.com
Some of the links in this episode may be affiliate links, meaning if you click through and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Ellen Krause (00:04):
At the Coffee and Bible Time podcast.
Our goal is to help you delightin God's Word and thrive in
Christian living.
Each week, we talk to subjectmatter experts who broaden your
biblical understanding,encourage you in hard times and
provide life-building tips toenhance your Christian walk.
We are so glad you have joinedus.
(00:25):
Welcome back to the Coffee andBible Time podcast.
This is Ellen, your host.
Today we are going to betalking about how God uses pain
in our lives.
That's something that can comewith a lot of big emotions and
(00:46):
bad memories, but as believers,it's not a question we need to
be afraid of or avoid.
Today, taylor is joining us fora chat about James, chapter one
, verses two through four, whichis a passage that challenges us
to build endurance and count itall joy even in the most
(01:10):
painful parts of life.
Taylor Krause (01:12):
Welcome, taylor.
Thank you so much for having me.
I've just really looked forwardto this.
I love every time that I'm ableto do a podcast with you and
just talk, maybe ramble a littlebit, and especially on today's
topic, I'm very excited becausewe've been studying it a lot in
our online community and everyweek we've been meeting in a
(01:37):
small group, talking, going indepth, actually attempting to
memorize James 1, which is notas hard as you'd think.
If you go really slow, I'mbehind.
I'm not going to lie, but Istill love doing it.
Ellen Krause (01:53):
Well, I'm thrilled to have you with us, and why
don't we start out today byreading the passage aloud?
So, taylor, I'm going to beusing the ESV translation.
What about you?
Taylor Krause (02:10):
I'm going to use the CSB Christian Standard Bible
Translation, and actually aBible that I've been really
using a lot more lately is theSpurgeon Study Bible.
We'll have it linked in theshow notes if anybody's curious,
but it has notes writtenthroughout the Bible from
Spurgeon Study Bible.
We'll have it linked in theshow notes if anybody's curious,
but it has notes writtenthroughout the Bible from
Spurgeon, I think from hissermons, and there's a lot of
(02:32):
interesting insight in there.
I would not say, though, thatit's a traditional study Bible,
so for those of you that arelooking for like context on
every single verse, it's notthat, but it's kind of nice
little supplemental tidbits fromSpurgeon.
Ellen Krause (02:46):
I can only imagine how rich.
That is Okay, and I'm going tobe using the ESV.
It's the Key Word Study Bible,which is really awesome because
it has all of the originallanguage, hebrew and Greek.
So specific verses that aremarked in the back that you can
go look at and see what theoriginal language, hebrew and
Greek.
So specific verses that aremarked in the back that you can
(03:07):
go look at and see what theoriginal meaning of those words
were.
So I'll start with the ESV,verses two through four of James
.
Chapter one says count it all.
Joy, my brothers, when you meettrials of various kinds, for
you know that the testing ofyour faith produces
steadfastness, and letsteadfastness have its full
(03:28):
effect, that you may be perfectand complete, lacking in nothing
.
Taylor Krause (03:35):
And I'm going to go ahead and read from CSB.
Consider it great joy, mybrothers and sisters, whenever
you experience various trials,because you know that the
testing of your faith producesOkay.
I like that we're able tocontrast both of those
(04:04):
translations and actually that'sa good tip for any of you that
are reading a certain passage ofthe Bible.
Sometimes, if you don't get itfully or if you want an even
potentially fuller picture of it, look at several different
translations, and that is alwaysreally helpful.
Ellen Krause (04:21):
So helpful In fact , biblehubcom is always really
helpful.
So helpful, in fact,biblehubcom.
If you go there and you put ina verse, it'll give you like I
don't know, 15 translations.
It's a lot, but it's reallyhelpful.
Well, before we dive into theseverses, let's spend a few
minutes setting the groundworkfor what we need to know about
(04:42):
the book of James.
We've been going through thisfirst chapter in our community
and doing a lot of research onthe context of this book, so why
don't you start out withtelling us some of the things
that you've learned about thecontext of James?
Taylor Krause (04:57):
Yeah, absolutely so.
Just to begin, who wrote theletter?
Some scholars debate this and Iwill say to you right now that
this is not the most importantthing to know about the context
of the book, but we do believethat james, the brother, half
brother, of jesus, wrote thisbook.
He did grow up with jesus andinitially he didn't believe in
(05:21):
jesus um, that he was son of God, but he saw him after the
resurrection and he then becamea believer.
He also became the leader ofbelievers in Jerusalem.
That is who we believe wrotethe letter.
We believe that he was writingto the 12 tribes that were
(05:45):
scattered, the Jewish peoplethat were scattered out of
Jerusalem.
They're living outside ofPalestine and they're also
experiencing a lot ofpersecution.
A lot of them are in poverty.
You could probably say most ofthem are social outcasts where
(06:06):
they're at.
So you can say without a shadowof a doubt that they are going
through a very difficult trial.
This is not an easy thing and,as James is writing this letter
to them, he's really wanting topress in on the fact that they
should endure through this trialand they should also be living
(06:28):
out their faith.
That's a really big theme.
You see, throughout the book ofJames is that faith is
accompanied by works.
Works don't get you into heaven, but if you have true and
saving faith, you should seethat fruit in your life
evidenced by works.
We shouldn't live like theworld does.
Our works will show the worldthat we are different.
(06:52):
We're transformed.
Our faith transforms oureveryday life and dictates how
we live.
Ellen Krause (06:59):
Absolutely, and that transformation process so
much of it does come as a resultof trials.
We don't like to think aboutthat too much because it's very
hard to go through.
James jumps right into hisletter by talking about joy in
trials.
So first tell us, between joyand happiness, I think it's
(07:25):
important to just make surepeople realize there's a
difference between being happyabout a trial or finding joy in
trials.
Taylor Krause (07:33):
Yeah, that is a really good point.
Joy is not circumstantial,Happiness is circumstantial, is
circumstantial.
Happiness isn't bad, but it isoften fleeting.
It's really hit or miss.
Some days you're happy, somedays you're sad.
I mean heck.
Some minutes you're happy andsome minutes you're sad.
(07:55):
It is a roller coaster and joyis really different, especially
joy as a believer.
Especially joy as a believerand joy as a believer is not
circumstantial.
When you have faith in Christ,he becomes your all, your
everything, your security, yoursignificance, your satisfaction.
(08:17):
And when you truly understandthe depth of the gospel, how far
Christ has gone to save you,how much he loves you, how he
sees you robed in white, thisproduces in you this sort of joy
, happiness in Christ, who he'smade you to be, who he is, how
(08:39):
he has a plan for you in yourlife that isn't rocked or moved
by circumstances or by trials.
And I believe that when Jamesis writing this letter and he's
telling believers, consider itjoy when you experience trials
and you have all of thesedifficult circumstances, he's
not telling them be happy, Bereally happy that you're going
(09:03):
through a difficult time.
He's telling them think aboutthis on a deeper level Does God
move in the midst of trials, Ishe still working?
Does he have a plan thatsurpasses these individual
difficult moments, that he workstogether for his glory and your
good?
Yes, Because of that you canhave joy.
(09:26):
And it is a challenge.
I think that he is challengingthem not just in this beginning
section, but all throughout thebook of James.
He constantly challenges them torefine their thinking, to live
differently, live in their faith, and having joy is a part of
that.
It is a choice to choose joy inyour circumstances, because our
(09:50):
emotions are very, very powerfulcircumstances, because our
emotions are very, very powerful.
And if you latch on to sadnessand to bitterness and anger and
resentment, then are you reallymaking room for a deeper root to
grow in joy.
And joy is one of the fruits ofthe spirit, which means that if
(10:11):
you want to truly experiencejoy, you got to have that
relationship with Christ andabiding with him.
That doesn't mean you'restriving and grasping at straws
to find in yourself some type ofjoy apart from Christ.
The joy will really come whenyou take time to be with him and
(10:32):
to pray and to ask him to renewyour mind.
Later he says if you needwisdom in your trial, ask God.
That's another thing.
It comes right after this.
We're not going to touch on ittoday, but if you're like man,
I'm really struggling to findjoy in this difficult
circumstance.
James tells you swing the doorwide open and God will open it
(10:55):
and give you the wisdom that youneed.
Ellen Krause (10:59):
So true, and I love how you brought up that
sort of.
The opposite of joy is thisbitterness, and I kind of see it
as like weeds, but maybe that'sbecause I'm in the gardening
mode right now.
But you said for the joy to takeroot and the icy bitterness is
just this invasive weed like theones that have tendrils that
(11:22):
even like bend the plant overand want to crush it, and I
think that that's we don't wantto get to that place.
I think that we don't want toget to that place.
Right, and having joy willprevent us from pushing back on
that.
Mm-hmm, what sort of trialswere the churches going through
(11:47):
during this time?
James wrote this letter.
Taylor Krause (11:51):
Yeah, that's a good question.
I touched briefly on it earlierand I'll kind of just reiterate
what I was saying before.
But James's readers weresuffering persecution and many
of them were living in poverty.
They didn't have enough to meettheir needs like they used to
back when they were living athome.
(12:12):
They're not at home, right,that's another trial that
they're going through.
They're not around the familiarplaces, people that they were
with before, places that madethem feel at peace.
They're also social outcasts.
They're experiencing a lot ofpolitical I mean spiritual
conflict.
They're not respected for whatthey believe in.
(12:34):
Everywhere they go they'reprobably looked at as being
weird outsiders, not wanted.
But also, we see, james callsout that a lot of them are
living worldly.
Maybe they believe in God, butif you looked at them on the
outside you wouldn't know thatbecause they're living like
everyone else.
So he's really going tochallenge them in this book to
(12:57):
seek God's wisdom, to livedifferently.
Just because they're goingthrough a trial or going through
a hard time doesn't give them ahall pass to act however they
want and maybe give up on takingup their cross daily.
Going through a trial, maybeeven more so, is a challenge and
(13:22):
necessity to lean into yourrelationship with Christ rather
than to walk away and giveyourself a break from living
like how Christ wants you to,and give yourself a break from
living like how Christ wants youto.
Ellen Krause (13:43):
Yes, you know our pastor.
Coincidentally, after westarted our James study, he
started James at our church andhe brought up such an incredible
point when looking up theoriginal language for the word
count at all joy.
So count because there's peoplethat are listening that might
even just like say forget aboutthis podcast because it's just
not possible.
Taylor Krause (14:02):
Right.
Ellen Krause (14:03):
This really brings it into reality, because the
original language for count wasthink, reflect, consider, and
it's you know and recognizingthat our joy is not for the
trial but in how God will usethe trial to produce spiritual
(14:23):
endurance in us.
We can have joy because God iswith us in the trial, he's
growing us, he's shaping usthrough the trial and the
important thing here is thatthis joy is not instant right.
(14:44):
It may take months, it may takeyears, it may take counseling to
bring us to a point where wecan find joy in the work that
God has done through the trialand that, I think, is so joyful.
To look back when you have gonethrough a trial and seeing how
(15:07):
God has worked in that isabsolutely incredible.
Well, in verse three in the ESVit says for you know that the
testing of your faith producessteadfastness, and in some
versions steadfastness istranslated as endurance.
Taylor, why don't you read thedefinition of endurance, and
(15:32):
I'll talk about the definitionof steadfast.
Taylor Krause (15:36):
Absolutely.
I'm going to the dictionarywebsite and it says that to have
endurance is when you have theability or strength to continue
to last, especially despitefatigue, stress, adverse
conditions.
(15:56):
It means you have stamina, itmeans that you can endure the
pain of hardships, et cetera.
Yeah, it mentions the wordhardship trial, fatigue, stress,
adverse conditions.
So we're not talking a fun timeover here.
(16:17):
What about you, mom?
What's your definition?
Ellen Krause (16:19):
Yes, so steadfast and, looking back at the Greek
interpretation of this word,says that steadfast is holding
fast to one's faith.
It's abiding, not fleeing, toendure.
And what I loved is it saysit's said to bear bravely and
(16:41):
calmly Wow.
Taylor Krause (16:43):
I like that.
Ellen Krause (16:44):
Okay.
That's good Now that'ssomething like steadfast is not
like a word that we use commonlyin today's language.
So this really brings it tolife to help us understand that
holding fast to one's faithRight.
So what was James encouragingbelievers to stay steadfast in?
Taylor Krause (17:10):
Yeah, I think that it's pretty simple.
Yeah, I think that it's prettysimple.
Stay steadfast in the trial ofthe persecution, of being social
outcasts, being far from homeFor a lot of them, enduring
through poverty, not having themoney that they need in this
(17:32):
time.
Is James telling them be happyabout those things?
No, god is a God of justice.
James isn't saying just pretendlike nobody's ever hurt you and
you know, hopefully you'll livein poverty forever.
Just be happy.
No, that is not at all thepoint of what James is trying to
(17:55):
say.
We shouldn't assume that God isnever going to work or change
our circumstances.
Bring justice when there needsto be justice.
But God does work on a differenttimeline than us and what he
asks us to do is to have joy.
That is so hard to do.
Does he tell us to do it?
(18:19):
Yes, does that mean we'restriving in and of ourselves to
have it?
No, he says here's myinvitation Abide in me and I
will help you grow the fruit ofjoy.
You're going to find joy byhaving a deeper relationship
with me.
Don't try to have joy byyourself.
It just isn't going to workbecause you're going to think
that joy is happiness and it'snot.
That's what I see there.
Ellen Krause (18:43):
So then, what does it mean?
To let that steadfastness thenhave its full effect, mm-hmm.
Taylor Krause (18:52):
Yeah, in my translation, the CSB translation
, it says that you should letthis steadfastness have its full
effect so that you may becomemature.
And I like that word maturebecause when you think about a
fruit ripening, that fruit and Ican't remember who, if it was a
(19:12):
podcast I was listening to, orDavid, our pastor they said when
fruit is ripening, that thingis getting beaten down by the
sun.
That fruit isn't having aheyday, okay, drinking a pina
colada, getting caught in therain underneath the shade.
No, that is getting extremeamounts of heat and it's being
(19:36):
transformed.
So in this trial that you arein, god wants to grow fruit.
Right, he wants you to abide inhim and grow this fruit.
So if you're in a trial andyou're asking yourself okay, god
, will this trial draw me closerto you?
If the answer is yes, don't tryrunning away from the trial.
(19:59):
If the trial is drawing you tohave a deeper relationship with
God, let it have its full effectin maturing you, in growing
your relationship with God.
When you endure and are underthat tension, under the heat,
you're going to build strengthand resilience.
If you're partnering withChrist, you always have the
(20:22):
option in a trial to lean intoChrist, lean into that abiding
relationship through prayer,through reading scripture,
memorizing scripture, leaning onyour brothers and sisters in
your church, your family, or youhave the option to walk away,
say this faith is too hard.
But James is telling usactually, if you're a believer,
(20:46):
let this endurance have its fulleffect.
Don't prematurely get out ofthe race because you're tired.
Lean deeper into Jesus.
Faith is like a marathon.
It's not a sprint.
You're going to be running,with some bruises, some fatigue,
rug burn, and in the end, youare running for eternity with
(21:14):
Jesus.
That is something to celebrateand that's something to have joy
about, which brings us toanother question why is this
something that we can be joyfulabout?
Letting steadfastness have itsfull effect and I believe and,
mom, I'd love to hear youropinion on this too is we can
(21:39):
have joy because Christ is ourultimate joy and in
circumstances that are hard,christ is going to teach you
that he's your ultimate joy,that he's your ultimate hope,
your salvation, your security,your significance.
What greater joy really isthere than knowing God, being
(22:01):
known by the God of the universe?
And I do believe that and thisis scriptural God has designed
you to be in a relationship withhim If your trial is bringing
you to your knees in prayer,then, hallelujah, have joy that
you have an opportunity to havea deeper relationship with Jesus
(22:21):
.
That's probably more importantthan 99% of the things we do on
autopilot every day.
James is asking you to consider, to ponder, to reframe your
mind in trials, to have joy inwhat God, what Christ, is doing
through this, that you havepurpose even in the pain.
(22:43):
And I like to think of it thisway as well God likes to redeem
broken things.
We see that all throughout thenarrative of the Bible.
We see that all throughout thenarrative of the Bible, all
throughout the Old Testament.
Ever since the first sin ofAdam and Eve, god didn't push
them away.
He stayed.
He put on his redeeming glovesto start gardening through all
(23:11):
the broken people throughouthistory, and he's been bearing
fruit in all of us who choose toabide in him.
That's not our own work.
That's Christ that takes thepressure off of yourself.
It's like, okay, if I know thatmy heavenly father likes to
(23:31):
redeem and he sees my brokensituation, likes to redeem and
he sees my broken situation, I'mready, lord, for you to come in
and do the work that you needto do.
Ellen Krause (23:42):
I am ready for that.
I am ready for that too.
I feel like this is somethingthat is kind of like hindsight
is 20-20, where, when we lookback, we can see this incredible
amount, this gift that God hasactually given you as a result
(24:03):
of the trial that you wentthrough.
You wouldn't be the person thatyou are today if God hadn't
allowed you to experience thattrial and be grown and shaped by
that.
I'm going to read Romans 5, 1through 5, because it also lends
some insight into this.
It says, therefore, since wehave been justified by faith, we
(24:27):
have peace with God through ourLord Jesus Christ.
Through him, we have alsoobtained access by faith into
this grace in which we stand,and we rejoice in the hope of
the glory of God.
Not only that, but we rejoicein our sufferings, knowing that
(24:47):
suffering produces endurance,and endurance produces character
, and character produces hope.
Endurance produces characterand character produces hope.
And hope does not put us toshame, because God's love has
been poured into our heartsthrough the Holy Spirit who has
been given to us.
Taylor Krause (25:08):
Amen, I love that .
I love reading other pieces ofscripture that bolster what
you're currently reading andstudying, and that passage was
perfect for that.
I have a question, mom, just toget into some personal things
here Is there any trial thatyou've faced where joy felt out
(25:32):
of reach?
Ellen Krause (25:35):
You know that's a great question and I will tell
you this.
So I started having kids when Iwas 25.
And my last one you is about toleave the nest and I'm 59.
Leave the nest and I'm 59.
(26:01):
So for the last 34 years I havedevoted most of my life or a
lot of my life, because I haveworked on and off other jobs
throughout that time but reallydevoted is to being a mom who's
in the day to day grips ofhelping a child, whether that's
young, and then a child who'sgrowing and ready to leave the
nest.
(26:22):
And for me this has been atrial because I've loved those
years with my children and Ihave really recognized that I
(26:43):
have a deep sadness for the kindof the loss of this stage of
life.
So it does feel like a trial inthat sense.
And this passage does give me alot of encouragement because I
know, coming out the other side,that I will find joy through
this trial.
I recognize that God gives usdifferent seasons of life
(27:04):
growing up, and now that I'mentering this phase I need to
ask God what is it?
How do you want to use me in adifferent way than you have been
using me?
Where do you want me to devotethe time and energy that was
previously applied to mothering,so to speak?
And God has been showing methings and already preparing me
(27:31):
in advance.
But it's hard for anyone whomight be in the stages of
someone getting married, like achild of yours getting married.
It's bittersweet because youare truly happy for them.
I mean, this is what we want.
We want them to become adults,leave the nest be fruitful and
(27:53):
multiply.
Hint, hint.
Okay, and multiply Hint hint,taylor, okay, but yeah, that's
just an example of something I'mgoing through right now.
Taylor Krause (28:11):
That totally makes sense, and I haven't even
had kids yet.
But I just feel the shift ofbecoming a mother is a total
game changer with identitythings.
And when you become a motherit's almost like the part who
you were before you had kidskind of takes the back burner
for 20, 25, 30 years and thenall of a sudden your kids leave
(28:32):
and it's like whoa, I am aloneand back to discovering who I
was before I had kids and Godhelped me lean into that
identity of being just adaughter of Christ and being
satisfied in who I am.
(28:52):
And you and being a motherisn't all that you are, even
though it's amazing.
And being a mother isn't allthat you are, even though it's
amazing, um, you're, you're evenmore than that you know.
So I imagine that that'sdifficult and I'll say for
myself, for you, yeah too.
A trial that I was wrestlingwith I've talked about this all
throughout the past couple yearsis I've had a phobia of
(29:15):
throwing up Not the world's mostcommon phobia, but I have heard
of many, many, many peopledealing with this phobia.
Basically, two summers ago Ire-triggered myself because I
had thrown up from a medicationthat I had taken and man did
(29:36):
that send me into a whirlwind ofa trial, constant anxiety over
the top, irrational stuff.
Phobias are irrational to beginwith, let's just say that.
But there's something in there,deep, painful, that needs to be
(29:57):
healed by God.
And it's hard to let go ofphobias because there's
something in you that says, if Ijust keep holding on, somehow
this fear is protecting me fromwhatever I'm scared of and I
need to keep this fear becauseit's helpful and beneficial and
it's keeping me safe.
Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong,wrong, wrong.
(30:18):
If you and this is for any ofyou that are struggling with a
phobia I don't know it's nottotally uncommon, honestly, and
I'm even talking phobias ofspiders here Don't let fear rule
your life.
That's what I was learningthrough my trial.
God showed me fear was rulingmy life.
(30:40):
The amount of thoughts that Ihad every single day that was
just surrounded by fear.
God showed me I don't want tolive that way and you know what?
Maybe facing my fears is betterthan living in fear and
thinking that it's actuallyhelping me when it's not.
So maybe my encouragement foryou today if you're going
(31:12):
through a trial that is rootedin fear, ask God for wisdom to
show you what it would look liketo not live in fear every day.
God wants to give you wisdomgenerously.
James tells us he wants to doit ungrudgingly or without
reproach.
Essentially, god's not sayingI'm not going to give you wisdom
because you haven't been a goodenough Christian for me.
No, god wants to give youwisdom if you come to him in
(31:32):
faith and say help me, lord, Iwant to live like you, I want to
abide in you, I want to be setfree and transformed.
I want to live into the realityof who I already am, and that
is free in Christ.
So that was the season that Iwas going through.
I'm not completely set, totallyfree from my phobia, but I have
(31:56):
grown immensely.
Yeah, so that's where I'm atthere.
And lastly, mom, to just closethis podcast out, if someone is
listening to this-.
Ellen Krause (32:09):
Hold on one second , go ahead.
You know what.
I actually have a verse herefor people who might be
struggling with any kind of fear, and this is a verse that I had
taped on my computer for years2 Timothy 1, 7.
It says for God has not givenus a spirit of fear, but of
(32:30):
power and love and of sound mind.
So I would encourage you towrite that out on a card or
something and have it, have ithandy, and when that comes up
for me, it was when I was in atime with my work and I just
would keep it handy, you know,whenever I had something scary
(32:52):
that I was facing absolutely um.
Taylor Krause (32:56):
And now, if any of you are in the middle of a
lot of pain, a difficult trial,I want to encourage you with
something James says a littlebit later too, which is ask God
in faith for wisdom.
Lean into your relationshipwith God when you are going
through a difficult time.
(33:17):
Lean into your relationshipwith God when you are going
through a difficult time, evenif you're like I've been praying
, I've been asking, god has beensilent.
This is how you are buildingyour spiritual muscles.
This is how you're buildingyour endurance.
When you are going throughdifficulties, lean deeper, lean
harder into Christ.
Deeper, lean, harder intoChrist.
(33:42):
And James tells us ask in faithfor wisdom.
He wants to give it to you andto also be aware that those that
don't ask in faith, that don'tlean into their faith when
you're in a trial, are drivenand tossed like the waves of the
sea by the wind.
In other words, the sea by thewind.
In other words, if you don'tlean into your faith and do a
trial, you are going to be backand forth, flopped all over by
(34:10):
your circumstances, like thewaves of the surging sea.
This is no dignified way for abeliever to live because you
don't have to, because Godextends his hand to you to let
your faith be the pathway tostrength, to a deeper
relationship with him.
Start with prayer.
Prayer on your knees is areally great way to physically
(34:30):
humble yourself while you alsospiritually humble yourself, and
maybe just make it a patternevery night before you go to bed
.
If you're going through adifficult circumstance, get on
your knee and ask in faith forGod to give you wisdom and for
God to give you contentment andjoy in Him, not your
circumstances.
And it is okay to ask and prayfor God to provide.
(34:53):
If you're there, it isabsolutely okay to do that.
Provide if you're there, it isabsolutely okay to do that.
But also make sure your heart'sdesire is to find your security
and your significance and yoursatisfaction in him, more than
anything, more than any worldly,circumstantial thing.
To find your security in him.
(35:13):
That's my encouragement for youall today.
Ellen Krause (35:17):
Thank you for that , tay, and just as a reminder,
james isn't asking you to feeljoy, but to count on what God is
doing underneath the surface.
Your endurance is being formedand you are not alone.
You're not forgotten.
Tay, would you mind closing usin prayer for our listeners?
Taylor Krause (35:40):
Absolutely.
Dear Lord, thank you for whoyou are.
Thank you that you are near tous, that you make yourself
available to us, that you're sowilling to be dependable even
when we aren't, even when we dolack faith, even when we do
doubt God.
(36:01):
We don't want to be like thewaves of the sea that's driven
and tossed by our emotions andour circumstances.
We want to be rooted in you andGod.
We want you to help us growclose to you in the midst of our
trials.
Lord, would you give us joy?
Would you cultivate in us joy?
Father, we need that.
We need that.
(36:22):
We don't want to be shaped bythe world.
We want to be different.
We want to have joy in themiddle of hard circumstances.
Please, lord, show us how to dothat.
We trust in you.
We rely on you.
We love you, amen.
At the Coffee and Bible Time podcast.
Our goal is to help you delightin God's Word and thrive in
Christian living.
Each week, we talk to subjectmatter experts who broaden your
biblical understanding,encourage you in hard times and
provide life-building tips toenhance your Christian walk.
We are so glad you have joinedus.
(00:25):
Welcome back to the Coffee andBible Time podcast.
This is Ellen, your host.
Today we are going to betalking about how God uses pain
in our lives.
That's something that can comewith a lot of big emotions and
(00:46):
bad memories, but as believers,it's not a question we need to
be afraid of or avoid.
Today, taylor is joining us fora chat about James, chapter one
, verses two through four, whichis a passage that challenges us
to build endurance and count itall joy even in the most
(01:10):
painful parts of life.
Taylor Krause (01:12):
Welcome, taylor.
Thank you so much for having me.
I've just really looked forwardto this.
I love every time that I'm ableto do a podcast with you and
just talk, maybe ramble a littlebit, and especially on today's
topic, I'm very excited becausewe've been studying it a lot in
our online community and everyweek we've been meeting in a
(01:37):
small group, talking, going indepth, actually attempting to
memorize James 1, which is notas hard as you'd think.
If you go really slow, I'mbehind.
I'm not going to lie, but Istill love doing it.
Ellen Krause (01:53):
Well, I'm thrilled to have you with us, and why
don't we start out today byreading the passage aloud?
So, taylor, I'm going to beusing the ESV translation.
What about you?
Taylor Krause (02:10):
I'm going to use the CSB Christian Standard Bible
Translation, and actually aBible that I've been really
using a lot more lately is theSpurgeon Study Bible.
We'll have it linked in theshow notes if anybody's curious,
but it has notes writtenthroughout the Bible from
Spurgeon Study Bible.
We'll have it linked in theshow notes if anybody's curious,
but it has notes writtenthroughout the Bible from
Spurgeon, I think from hissermons, and there's a lot of
(02:32):
interesting insight in there.
I would not say, though, thatit's a traditional study Bible,
so for those of you that arelooking for like context on
every single verse, it's notthat, but it's kind of nice
little supplemental tidbits fromSpurgeon.
Ellen Krause (02:46):
I can only imagine how rich.
That is Okay, and I'm going tobe using the ESV.
It's the Key Word Study Bible,which is really awesome because
it has all of the originallanguage, hebrew and Greek.
So specific verses that aremarked in the back that you can
go look at and see what theoriginal language, hebrew and
Greek.
So specific verses that aremarked in the back that you can
(03:07):
go look at and see what theoriginal meaning of those words
were.
So I'll start with the ESV,verses two through four of James
.
Chapter one says count it all.
Joy, my brothers, when you meettrials of various kinds, for
you know that the testing ofyour faith produces
steadfastness, and letsteadfastness have its full
(03:28):
effect, that you may be perfectand complete, lacking in nothing
.
Taylor Krause (03:35):
And I'm going to go ahead and read from CSB.
Consider it great joy, mybrothers and sisters, whenever
you experience various trials,because you know that the
testing of your faith producesOkay.
I like that we're able tocontrast both of those
(04:04):
translations and actually that'sa good tip for any of you that
are reading a certain passage ofthe Bible.
Sometimes, if you don't get itfully or if you want an even
potentially fuller picture of it, look at several different
translations, and that is alwaysreally helpful.
Ellen Krause (04:21):
So helpful In fact , biblehubcom is always really
helpful.
So helpful, in fact,biblehubcom.
If you go there and you put ina verse, it'll give you like I
don't know, 15 translations.
It's a lot, but it's reallyhelpful.
Well, before we dive into theseverses, let's spend a few
minutes setting the groundworkfor what we need to know about
(04:42):
the book of James.
We've been going through thisfirst chapter in our community
and doing a lot of research onthe context of this book, so why
don't you start out withtelling us some of the things
that you've learned about thecontext of James?
Taylor Krause (04:57):
Yeah, absolutely so.
Just to begin, who wrote theletter?
Some scholars debate this and Iwill say to you right now that
this is not the most importantthing to know about the context
of the book, but we do believethat james, the brother, half
brother, of jesus, wrote thisbook.
He did grow up with jesus andinitially he didn't believe in
(05:21):
jesus um, that he was son of God, but he saw him after the
resurrection and he then becamea believer.
He also became the leader ofbelievers in Jerusalem.
That is who we believe wrotethe letter.
We believe that he was writingto the 12 tribes that were
(05:45):
scattered, the Jewish peoplethat were scattered out of
Jerusalem.
They're living outside ofPalestine and they're also
experiencing a lot ofpersecution.
A lot of them are in poverty.
You could probably say most ofthem are social outcasts where
(06:06):
they're at.
So you can say without a shadowof a doubt that they are going
through a very difficult trial.
This is not an easy thing and,as James is writing this letter
to them, he's really wanting topress in on the fact that they
should endure through this trialand they should also be living
(06:28):
out their faith.
That's a really big theme.
You see, throughout the book ofJames is that faith is
accompanied by works.
Works don't get you into heaven, but if you have true and
saving faith, you should seethat fruit in your life
evidenced by works.
We shouldn't live like theworld does.
Our works will show the worldthat we are different.
(06:52):
We're transformed.
Our faith transforms oureveryday life and dictates how
we live.
Ellen Krause (06:59):
Absolutely, and that transformation process so
much of it does come as a resultof trials.
We don't like to think aboutthat too much because it's very
hard to go through.
James jumps right into hisletter by talking about joy in
trials.
So first tell us, between joyand happiness, I think it's
(07:25):
important to just make surepeople realize there's a
difference between being happyabout a trial or finding joy in
trials.
Taylor Krause (07:33):
Yeah, that is a really good point.
Joy is not circumstantial,Happiness is circumstantial, is
circumstantial.
Happiness isn't bad, but it isoften fleeting.
It's really hit or miss.
Some days you're happy, somedays you're sad.
I mean heck.
Some minutes you're happy andsome minutes you're sad.
(07:55):
It is a roller coaster and joyis really different, especially
joy as a believer.
Especially joy as a believerand joy as a believer is not
circumstantial.
When you have faith in Christ,he becomes your all, your
everything, your security, yoursignificance, your satisfaction.
(08:17):
And when you truly understandthe depth of the gospel, how far
Christ has gone to save you,how much he loves you, how he
sees you robed in white, thisproduces in you this sort of joy
, happiness in Christ, who he'smade you to be, who he is, how
(08:39):
he has a plan for you in yourlife that isn't rocked or moved
by circumstances or by trials.
And I believe that when Jamesis writing this letter and he's
telling believers, consider itjoy when you experience trials
and you have all of thesedifficult circumstances, he's
not telling them be happy, Bereally happy that you're going
(09:03):
through a difficult time.
He's telling them think aboutthis on a deeper level Does God
move in the midst of trials, Ishe still working?
Does he have a plan thatsurpasses these individual
difficult moments, that he workstogether for his glory and your
good?
Yes, Because of that you canhave joy.
(09:26):
And it is a challenge.
I think that he is challengingthem not just in this beginning
section, but all throughout thebook of James.
He constantly challenges them torefine their thinking, to live
differently, live in their faith, and having joy is a part of
that.
It is a choice to choose joy inyour circumstances, because our
(09:50):
emotions are very, very powerfulcircumstances, because our
emotions are very, very powerful.
And if you latch on to sadnessand to bitterness and anger and
resentment, then are you reallymaking room for a deeper root to
grow in joy.
And joy is one of the fruits ofthe spirit, which means that if
(10:11):
you want to truly experiencejoy, you got to have that
relationship with Christ andabiding with him.
That doesn't mean you'restriving and grasping at straws
to find in yourself some type ofjoy apart from Christ.
The joy will really come whenyou take time to be with him and
(10:32):
to pray and to ask him to renewyour mind.
Later he says if you needwisdom in your trial, ask God.
That's another thing.
It comes right after this.
We're not going to touch on ittoday, but if you're like man,
I'm really struggling to findjoy in this difficult
circumstance.
James tells you swing the doorwide open and God will open it
(10:55):
and give you the wisdom that youneed.
Ellen Krause (10:59):
So true, and I love how you brought up that
sort of.
The opposite of joy is thisbitterness, and I kind of see it
as like weeds, but maybe that'sbecause I'm in the gardening
mode right now.
But you said for the joy to takeroot and the icy bitterness is
just this invasive weed like theones that have tendrils that
(11:22):
even like bend the plant overand want to crush it, and I
think that that's we don't wantto get to that place.
I think that we don't want toget to that place.
Right, and having joy willprevent us from pushing back on
that.
Mm-hmm, what sort of trialswere the churches going through
(11:47):
during this time?
James wrote this letter.
Taylor Krause (11:51):
Yeah, that's a good question.
I touched briefly on it earlierand I'll kind of just reiterate
what I was saying before.
But James's readers weresuffering persecution and many
of them were living in poverty.
They didn't have enough to meettheir needs like they used to
back when they were living athome.
(12:12):
They're not at home, right,that's another trial that
they're going through.
They're not around the familiarplaces, people that they were
with before, places that madethem feel at peace.
They're also social outcasts.
They're experiencing a lot ofpolitical I mean spiritual
conflict.
They're not respected for whatthey believe in.
(12:34):
Everywhere they go they'reprobably looked at as being
weird outsiders, not wanted.
But also, we see, james callsout that a lot of them are
living worldly.
Maybe they believe in God, butif you looked at them on the
outside you wouldn't know thatbecause they're living like
everyone else.
So he's really going tochallenge them in this book to
(12:57):
seek God's wisdom, to livedifferently.
Just because they're goingthrough a trial or going through
a hard time doesn't give them ahall pass to act however they
want and maybe give up on takingup their cross daily.
Going through a trial, maybeeven more so, is a challenge and
(13:22):
necessity to lean into yourrelationship with Christ rather
than to walk away and giveyourself a break from living
like how Christ wants you to,and give yourself a break from
living like how Christ wants youto.
Ellen Krause (13:43):
Yes, you know our pastor.
Coincidentally, after westarted our James study, he
started James at our church andhe brought up such an incredible
point when looking up theoriginal language for the word
count at all joy.
So count because there's peoplethat are listening that might
even just like say forget aboutthis podcast because it's just
not possible.
Taylor Krause (14:02):
Right.
Ellen Krause (14:03):
This really brings it into reality, because the
original language for count wasthink, reflect, consider, and
it's you know and recognizingthat our joy is not for the
trial but in how God will usethe trial to produce spiritual
(14:23):
endurance in us.
We can have joy because God iswith us in the trial, he's
growing us, he's shaping usthrough the trial and the
important thing here is thatthis joy is not instant right.
(14:44):
It may take months, it may takeyears, it may take counseling to
bring us to a point where wecan find joy in the work that
God has done through the trialand that, I think, is so joyful.
To look back when you have gonethrough a trial and seeing how
(15:07):
God has worked in that isabsolutely incredible.
Well, in verse three in the ESVit says for you know that the
testing of your faith producessteadfastness, and in some
versions steadfastness istranslated as endurance.
Taylor, why don't you read thedefinition of endurance, and
(15:32):
I'll talk about the definitionof steadfast.
Taylor Krause (15:36):
Absolutely.
I'm going to the dictionarywebsite and it says that to have
endurance is when you have theability or strength to continue
to last, especially despitefatigue, stress, adverse
conditions.
(15:56):
It means you have stamina, itmeans that you can endure the
pain of hardships, et cetera.
Yeah, it mentions the wordhardship trial, fatigue, stress,
adverse conditions.
So we're not talking a fun timeover here.
(16:17):
What about you, mom?
What's your definition?
Ellen Krause (16:19):
Yes, so steadfast and, looking back at the Greek
interpretation of this word,says that steadfast is holding
fast to one's faith.
It's abiding, not fleeing, toendure.
And what I loved is it saysit's said to bear bravely and
(16:41):
calmly Wow.
Taylor Krause (16:43):
I like that.
Ellen Krause (16:44):
Okay.
That's good Now that'ssomething like steadfast is not
like a word that we use commonlyin today's language.
So this really brings it tolife to help us understand that
holding fast to one's faithRight.
So what was James encouragingbelievers to stay steadfast in?
Taylor Krause (17:10):
Yeah, I think that it's pretty simple.
Yeah, I think that it's prettysimple.
Stay steadfast in the trial ofthe persecution, of being social
outcasts, being far from homeFor a lot of them, enduring
through poverty, not having themoney that they need in this
(17:32):
time.
Is James telling them be happyabout those things?
No, god is a God of justice.
James isn't saying just pretendlike nobody's ever hurt you and
you know, hopefully you'll livein poverty forever.
Just be happy.
No, that is not at all thepoint of what James is trying to
(17:55):
say.
We shouldn't assume that God isnever going to work or change
our circumstances.
Bring justice when there needsto be justice.
But God does work on a differenttimeline than us and what he
asks us to do is to have joy.
That is so hard to do.
Does he tell us to do it?
(18:19):
Yes, does that mean we'restriving in and of ourselves to
have it?
No, he says here's myinvitation Abide in me and I
will help you grow the fruit ofjoy.
You're going to find joy byhaving a deeper relationship
with me.
Don't try to have joy byyourself.
It just isn't going to workbecause you're going to think
that joy is happiness and it'snot.
That's what I see there.
Ellen Krause (18:43):
So then, what does it mean?
To let that steadfastness thenhave its full effect, mm-hmm.
Taylor Krause (18:52):
Yeah, in my translation, the CSB translation
, it says that you should letthis steadfastness have its full
effect so that you may becomemature.
And I like that word maturebecause when you think about a
fruit ripening, that fruit and Ican't remember who, if it was a
(19:12):
podcast I was listening to, orDavid, our pastor they said when
fruit is ripening, that thingis getting beaten down by the
sun.
That fruit isn't having aheyday, okay, drinking a pina
colada, getting caught in therain underneath the shade.
No, that is getting extremeamounts of heat and it's being
(19:36):
transformed.
So in this trial that you arein, god wants to grow fruit.
Right, he wants you to abide inhim and grow this fruit.
So if you're in a trial andyou're asking yourself okay, god
, will this trial draw me closerto you?
If the answer is yes, don't tryrunning away from the trial.
(19:59):
If the trial is drawing you tohave a deeper relationship with
God, let it have its full effectin maturing you, in growing
your relationship with God.
When you endure and are underthat tension, under the heat,
you're going to build strengthand resilience.
If you're partnering withChrist, you always have the
(20:22):
option in a trial to lean intoChrist, lean into that abiding
relationship through prayer,through reading scripture,
memorizing scripture, leaning onyour brothers and sisters in
your church, your family, or youhave the option to walk away,
say this faith is too hard.
But James is telling usactually, if you're a believer,
(20:46):
let this endurance have its fulleffect.
Don't prematurely get out ofthe race because you're tired.
Lean deeper into Jesus.
Faith is like a marathon.
It's not a sprint.
You're going to be running,with some bruises, some fatigue,
rug burn, and in the end, youare running for eternity with
(21:14):
Jesus.
That is something to celebrateand that's something to have joy
about, which brings us toanother question why is this
something that we can be joyfulabout?
Letting steadfastness have itsfull effect and I believe and,
mom, I'd love to hear youropinion on this too is we can
(21:39):
have joy because Christ is ourultimate joy and in
circumstances that are hard,christ is going to teach you
that he's your ultimate joy,that he's your ultimate hope,
your salvation, your security,your significance.
What greater joy really isthere than knowing God, being
(22:01):
known by the God of the universe?
And I do believe that and thisis scriptural God has designed
you to be in a relationship withhim If your trial is bringing
you to your knees in prayer,then, hallelujah, have joy that
you have an opportunity to havea deeper relationship with Jesus
(22:21):
.
That's probably more importantthan 99% of the things we do on
autopilot every day.
James is asking you to consider, to ponder, to reframe your
mind in trials, to have joy inwhat God, what Christ, is doing
through this, that you havepurpose even in the pain.
(22:43):
And I like to think of it thisway as well God likes to redeem
broken things.
We see that all throughout thenarrative of the Bible.
We see that all throughout thenarrative of the Bible, all
throughout the Old Testament.
Ever since the first sin ofAdam and Eve, god didn't push
them away.
He stayed.
He put on his redeeming glovesto start gardening through all
(23:11):
the broken people throughouthistory, and he's been bearing
fruit in all of us who choose toabide in him.
That's not our own work.
That's Christ that takes thepressure off of yourself.
It's like, okay, if I know thatmy heavenly father likes to
(23:31):
redeem and he sees my brokensituation, likes to redeem and
he sees my broken situation, I'mready, lord, for you to come in
and do the work that you needto do.
Ellen Krause (23:42):
I am ready for that.
I am ready for that too.
I feel like this is somethingthat is kind of like hindsight
is 20-20, where, when we lookback, we can see this incredible
amount, this gift that God hasactually given you as a result
(24:03):
of the trial that you wentthrough.
You wouldn't be the person thatyou are today if God hadn't
allowed you to experience thattrial and be grown and shaped by
that.
I'm going to read Romans 5, 1through 5, because it also lends
some insight into this.
It says, therefore, since wehave been justified by faith, we
(24:27):
have peace with God through ourLord Jesus Christ.
Through him, we have alsoobtained access by faith into
this grace in which we stand,and we rejoice in the hope of
the glory of God.
Not only that, but we rejoicein our sufferings, knowing that
(24:47):
suffering produces endurance,and endurance produces character
, and character produces hope.
Endurance produces characterand character produces hope.
And hope does not put us toshame, because God's love has
been poured into our heartsthrough the Holy Spirit who has
been given to us.
Taylor Krause (25:08):
Amen, I love that .
I love reading other pieces ofscripture that bolster what
you're currently reading andstudying, and that passage was
perfect for that.
I have a question, mom, just toget into some personal things
here Is there any trial thatyou've faced where joy felt out
(25:32):
of reach?
Ellen Krause (25:35):
You know that's a great question and I will tell
you this.
So I started having kids when Iwas 25.
And my last one you is about toleave the nest and I'm 59.
Leave the nest and I'm 59.
(26:01):
So for the last 34 years I havedevoted most of my life or a
lot of my life, because I haveworked on and off other jobs
throughout that time but reallydevoted is to being a mom who's
in the day to day grips ofhelping a child, whether that's
young, and then a child who'sgrowing and ready to leave the
nest.
(26:22):
And for me this has been atrial because I've loved those
years with my children and Ihave really recognized that I
(26:43):
have a deep sadness for the kindof the loss of this stage of
life.
So it does feel like a trial inthat sense.
And this passage does give me alot of encouragement because I
know, coming out the other side,that I will find joy through
this trial.
I recognize that God gives usdifferent seasons of life
(27:04):
growing up, and now that I'mentering this phase I need to
ask God what is it?
How do you want to use me in adifferent way than you have been
using me?
Where do you want me to devotethe time and energy that was
previously applied to mothering,so to speak?
And God has been showing methings and already preparing me
(27:31):
in advance.
But it's hard for anyone whomight be in the stages of
someone getting married, like achild of yours getting married.
It's bittersweet because youare truly happy for them.
I mean, this is what we want.
We want them to become adults,leave the nest be fruitful and
(27:53):
multiply.
Hint, hint.
Okay, and multiply Hint hint,taylor, okay, but yeah, that's
just an example of something I'mgoing through right now.
Taylor Krause (28:11):
That totally makes sense, and I haven't even
had kids yet.
But I just feel the shift ofbecoming a mother is a total
game changer with identitythings.
And when you become a motherit's almost like the part who
you were before you had kidskind of takes the back burner
for 20, 25, 30 years and thenall of a sudden your kids leave
(28:32):
and it's like whoa, I am aloneand back to discovering who I
was before I had kids and Godhelped me lean into that
identity of being just adaughter of Christ and being
satisfied in who I am.
(28:52):
And you and being a motherisn't all that you are, even
though it's amazing.
And being a mother isn't allthat you are, even though it's
amazing, um, you're, you're evenmore than that you know.
So I imagine that that'sdifficult and I'll say for
myself, for you, yeah too.
A trial that I was wrestlingwith I've talked about this all
throughout the past couple yearsis I've had a phobia of
(29:15):
throwing up Not the world's mostcommon phobia, but I have heard
of many, many, many peopledealing with this phobia.
Basically, two summers ago Ire-triggered myself because I
had thrown up from a medicationthat I had taken and man did
(29:36):
that send me into a whirlwind ofa trial, constant anxiety over
the top, irrational stuff.
Phobias are irrational to beginwith, let's just say that.
But there's something in there,deep, painful, that needs to be
(29:57):
healed by God.
And it's hard to let go ofphobias because there's
something in you that says, if Ijust keep holding on, somehow
this fear is protecting me fromwhatever I'm scared of and I
need to keep this fear becauseit's helpful and beneficial and
it's keeping me safe.
Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong,wrong, wrong.
(30:18):
If you and this is for any ofyou that are struggling with a
phobia I don't know it's nottotally uncommon, honestly, and
I'm even talking phobias ofspiders here Don't let fear rule
your life.
That's what I was learningthrough my trial.
God showed me fear was rulingmy life.
(30:40):
The amount of thoughts that Ihad every single day that was
just surrounded by fear.
God showed me I don't want tolive that way and you know what?
Maybe facing my fears is betterthan living in fear and
thinking that it's actuallyhelping me when it's not.
So maybe my encouragement foryou today if you're going
(31:12):
through a trial that is rootedin fear, ask God for wisdom to
show you what it would look liketo not live in fear every day.
God wants to give you wisdomgenerously.
James tells us he wants to doit ungrudgingly or without
reproach.
Essentially, god's not sayingI'm not going to give you wisdom
because you haven't been a goodenough Christian for me.
No, god wants to give youwisdom if you come to him in
(31:32):
faith and say help me, lord, Iwant to live like you, I want to
abide in you, I want to be setfree and transformed.
I want to live into the realityof who I already am, and that
is free in Christ.
So that was the season that Iwas going through.
I'm not completely set, totallyfree from my phobia, but I have
(31:56):
grown immensely.
Yeah, so that's where I'm atthere.
And lastly, mom, to just closethis podcast out, if someone is
listening to this-.
Ellen Krause (32:09):
Hold on one second , go ahead.
You know what.
I actually have a verse herefor people who might be
struggling with any kind of fear, and this is a verse that I had
taped on my computer for years2 Timothy 1, 7.
It says for God has not givenus a spirit of fear, but of
(32:30):
power and love and of sound mind.
So I would encourage you towrite that out on a card or
something and have it, have ithandy, and when that comes up
for me, it was when I was in atime with my work and I just
would keep it handy, you know,whenever I had something scary
(32:52):
that I was facing absolutely um.
Taylor Krause (32:56):
And now, if any of you are in the middle of a
lot of pain, a difficult trial,I want to encourage you with
something James says a littlebit later too, which is ask God
in faith for wisdom.
Lean into your relationshipwith God when you are going
through a difficult time.
(33:17):
Lean into your relationshipwith God when you are going
through a difficult time, evenif you're like I've been praying
, I've been asking, god has beensilent.
This is how you are buildingyour spiritual muscles.
This is how you're buildingyour endurance.
When you are going throughdifficulties, lean deeper, lean
harder into Christ.
Deeper, lean, harder intoChrist.
(33:42):
And James tells us ask in faithfor wisdom.
He wants to give it to you andto also be aware that those that
don't ask in faith, that don'tlean into their faith when
you're in a trial, are drivenand tossed like the waves of the
sea by the wind.
In other words, the sea by thewind.
In other words, if you don'tlean into your faith and do a
trial, you are going to be backand forth, flopped all over by
(34:10):
your circumstances, like thewaves of the surging sea.
This is no dignified way for abeliever to live because you
don't have to, because Godextends his hand to you to let
your faith be the pathway tostrength, to a deeper
relationship with him.
Start with prayer.
Prayer on your knees is areally great way to physically
(34:30):
humble yourself while you alsospiritually humble yourself, and
maybe just make it a patternevery night before you go to bed
.
If you're going through adifficult circumstance, get on
your knee and ask in faith forGod to give you wisdom and for
God to give you contentment andjoy in Him, not your
circumstances.
And it is okay to ask and prayfor God to provide.
(34:53):
If you're there, it isabsolutely okay to do that.
Provide if you're there, it isabsolutely okay to do that.
But also make sure your heart'sdesire is to find your security
and your significance and yoursatisfaction in him, more than
anything, more than any worldly,circumstantial thing.
To find your security in him.
(35:13):
That's my encouragement for youall today.
Ellen Krause (35:17):
Thank you for that , tay, and just as a reminder,
james isn't asking you to feeljoy, but to count on what God is
doing underneath the surface.
Your endurance is being formedand you are not alone.
You're not forgotten.
Tay, would you mind closing usin prayer for our listeners?
Taylor Krause (35:40):
Absolutely.
Dear Lord, thank you for whoyou are.
Thank you that you are near tous, that you make yourself
available to us, that you're sowilling to be dependable even
when we aren't, even when we dolack faith, even when we do
doubt God.
(36:01):
We don't want to be like thewaves of the sea that's driven
and tossed by our emotions andour circumstances.
We want to be rooted in you andGod.
We want you to help us growclose to you in the midst of our
trials.
Lord, would you give us joy?
Would you cultivate in us joy?
Father, we need that.
We need that.
(36:22):
We don't want to be shaped bythe world.
We want to be different.
We want to have joy in themiddle of hard circumstances.
Please, lord, show us how to dothat.
We trust in you.
We rely on you.
We love you, amen.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com