August 1, 2007
Wall-Bangers Anonymous
READ: James 1:1-8
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials. —James 1:2
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.
Accepting every pain,
Then we will learn what we should know;
Our grief will turn to gain. —Sper
