Trials, But Do I Have To?

I am wishing that the answer to that question was a no, but none of us are exempted from trials. I really wish that we were, but we aren't. So, what should we do? Should we go around and cry and just give up all hope? I used to think that that was the only way to get through things. I could never really find that hope that was laying inside of me. Many think that trials are horrible things and that nothing good could ever come out of them. At the time, they may seem like they are horrible, but once you get through them, you look back and realize that it was nothing. Oh, I know what it is like to get caught up in the moment! When it seems like you are stuck in a horrible situation and thinking that it will never end. Thinking that the world is just going to end because of what you are going through. But we don't have to look at trials like that anymore. We can look at them as a growing experience. In James it says,

James 1:2-3
2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

Woah, considering a hard time pure joy? That is not something that we all find easy to accomplish. Have you ever looked at a situation and saw it as a testing of your faith? I know that after reading this verse, I've seen that it does really test your faith. In those hard times, that is when you need to turn to God and put all of your faith in Him. Even though its harder to do it then, that is who is really going to get you through things. I know seeing a trial as a joy may be hard, but once you see something as a positive even though its a negative, your perspective and attitude towards it changes. Are you ready to have Christ give you that hope so that you may be joyful about your trials?