Be Still And Know

James 1:2-3 Talk to anyone involved in business or sport, and they will tell you that they learnt the most when things have gone badly. Times of financial loss or heavy defeats forced them to reflect and learn the most useful lessons. By working through the challenging times, they gained resilience - and that’s what we all need to be effective in life. We might wish that everything would always go smoothly and easily, but the truth is that, in those circumstances, we would never make progress. It’s for this reason that James rejoiced in the troubles his readers experienced. He wasn’t suggesting that troubles were, in themselves, good. The persecution that the Church was experiencing was extremely bad but, amazingly, God was able to use it to bring blessing. That’s why James saw their challenges as an opportunity for great joy. Testing times often make us stronger and help build our resilience and ability to endure in the face of difficulties. This was particularly important for James’ readers as t