Growing Through It

There are some things in life we would never choose.

The disappointment.

The delay.

The closed door.

The unexpected diagnosis.

The relationship that didn’t turn out the way we hoped.

The season that seems to keep stretching longer than we ever imagined.

If we’re honest, most of us don’t look at those moments and think: Joy.

We think, How do I get out of this?

How do I fix this? How quickly can I get back to normal?

But in the book of James, we see a radically different perspective on the hard places of our lives:

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

—James 1:2–4

Notice James doesn’t say the trial itself is good.

He says to consider it joy because of what the trial can produce.

That’s different.

Biblical joy isn’t pretending something doesn’t hurt. It’s not spiritualizing disappointment. It’s not calling something good that isn’t good.

Joy is recognizing that even here, God is still at work.

Something is being produced in you. Something is being strengthened. Something is growing. James calls it perseverance.

And then he says something I think many of us would rather skip: “Let perseverance finish its work.”

Let it finish.

Because we usually want God to get us out of the hard thing. But sometimes God is doing something in us through the hard thing.

We pray, God, change this.

And sometimes His answer begins with: I’m changing you.

Not because He enjoys watching us struggle. But because God is far more committed to who we are becoming than simply keeping us comfortable.

There are things you learn about God in the valley that you could never learn from the mountaintop. There is faith that only develops when you have to trust Him without seeing the outcome. There is strength that only develops when you keep showing up. There is perseverance that only develops when quitting becomes an option—and you choose to keep going.

And slowly, often without even realizing it... you are becoming.

More mature.

More complete.

More grounded.

More dependent on God.

More capable of carrying what He has called you to carry.

Maybe the question today isn’t: “God, when will this be over?”

Maybe it’s: “God, what are You producing in me through this?”

Because this trial doesn’t get the final word.

The disappointment doesn’t define you.

The difficulty doesn’t have to destroy you.

With God, even the hard places can become holy ground for transformation.

You aren’t simply going through it; you’re growing through it.

So don’t rush the process. Don’t despise what God may be developing. Let perseverance finish its work. There may be something on the other side of this trial that you’ve been praying for... but there may also be someone God is forming inside of it.

And that someone is you.

It’s time to Arise & Align.