Count It All Joy

{James 1:2-4}My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. When Daniel was in the midst of the lion's den…God was with him. When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were in the midst of the fiery furnace our God was with them. It would have been just as easy for God to immediately transport these saints out of their difficulties, but no, He chose instead to be with them in the midst of their trials. God chose to reveal His power through the trials instead of exercising His power to remove them. Trials and difficulties are simply a part of life and to be honest with you, the longer I walk with the Lord the bigger these trials become. But how do we react when our faith is challenged by these adversities? James 1:2 says to count it all joy! What could possibly be joyful about difficult situations? Painful, yes, but joy? Yet, somehow, I do find joy in knowing, and even sensing that God is with me in the midst of my problems -- in the midst of my trials. He did promise never to leave or forsake me; and as I look over my life, I find it to be absolutely true...no matter what crazy situation I'm in, God is with me. I can look back on my life and see how The Lord kept me and upheld me as he did the Hebrew Children. We all have this decision to make: either to complain because of the trials we're enduring...or to prayerfully lift our souls before him (Psalm 25:1) ...and rejoice in the midst of our troubles -- knowing, believing, and even feeling, that God is with us, now, always, all the way!