JennMacK

We are promised wisdom when we ask God for it, fully trusting and having faith in him. If we ask, not truly expecting Him to provide, then we will not receive. The trials we encounter are tests that we are given and, when we bear up from them, we are assured the corwn of life that God has promised.

Double-mindedness the way it is used here is like "hedging your bets".. You ask God for what you need but, if you don't truly believe, you won't receive it and then will fall back on "Well, I didn't expect Him to answer anyways.." It's a self fulfilling prophecy instead of true faith.. Trails help us grow in faith by allowing us to lean on God, to see his power at work in our lives when he carries us through the hard times..

People blame God for evil because it is difficult to comprehend how God, an omnipotent being that wants only the best for us, could allow for bad things to happen.. God created everything in balance.. Man and Woman, youth and age, good and evil.. You cannot have any of one without the other.. As humans we have free will and often make choices that allow for evil to take root and ind it's way into our lives.. when things that are bad or evil happen, it is not God's fault, but the balance of the universe.. Life is not fair and we cannot begin to understand His plan.. People blame God because it's easy.. he's not here to answer our questions, He doesn't stand before us and explain things so it's often easier to blame him than to just accept that, in this world, there is good and evil.. and we will probably experience both in our lifetime.. God does not tempt us.. He allows us to encounter temptations, much as he allows us to undergo trials.. By encountering temptations, we either stand up to them and strengthen our character or we give in, face consequences and eventually learn from our mistakes.. Everyone is sinful so saying He tempts sinful people, is to say He tempts everyone.. and God doesn't tempt.. Satan, through our own sinful desires that are in opposition to God's will, tempts us.. God created us with free will.. we would be Stepford Humans if we all acted perfectly in accordance to His will.. We can choose the right path, but as we are sinners, we will stumble and make mistakes.. In many ways, this brings us closer to God.. If we made no mistakes, if we did not sin, we wouldn't need God, we wouldn't need Christ's grace or salvation.. Evil is subjective.. people can be evil but trials and tribulations are not.. a car crash is not evil.. a disease is not evil.. people's actions are evil.. those who act with evil and malice in their hearts, if they do not repent and find God's grace will suffer an eternity of separation from God's redeeming grace.. trials and tribulations increase our dependence on God.. Through him, all things are possible..

I have experienced several trials.. In 2005 I was going through a painful divorce, unemployed, technically homeless (I lived with my kids at my parents house but had no home of my own) and had numerous other struggles. This set of trials actually brought me back to Christ's love. When I hit 'rock bottom" in dealing with the overwhelming plethora of difficulties, I broke down and turned it all over to God. Since then my life has improved a thousand fold and I know, no matter what happens, I can find solace in Him. Christ definitely refined me (one of my favorite comparisons of tribulations is "like silver refined"). Oddly, it isn't the BIG moments of tribulations that cause me to struggle with my faith and trust in God's plan.. it's the little ones.. I had supreme faith in Him as I waited on a new job, for my financial situation to improve and for my life to get back on track.. It's the smaller things like still being single after 4 years since my divorce, going on yet another horrible date or having minor bills pile up, that I get frustrated.. I think of 2005 as a big turning point in my life.. I renewed my life in Christ, I found a church home, I became a Stephen Minister, a Eucharistic Minister and a volunteer with my local domestic violence and sexual assault response organization. I am contemplating becoming a foster parent in the future, I have done 2 mission trips to Romania to work with orphans and I am in a period of personal discernment to decide if I want to pursue candidacy for becoming an ordained deacon in the Episcopal church. Of all the books, James is my favorite due to its practical focus and stance on "works". I completely embrace that through grace we are saved and that there is nothing we can do to ever earn that grace and salvation but, to me at least, it seems like we ought to at least attempt to emulate Christ in thanksgiving for our salvation. Christ was not someone who sat back and basked in glory or leveraged his power of being God's son for His personal gain. He went out and got hands on with people, healing, counseling, leading and teaching. If we live by His example, we should be compelled to help others and "work" for his grace.