Pain Is Gain (James 1)

If you’ve read my book (by the way, someone said it’s the best book ever!) (okay, that someone was my mom) then you know that James 1:2-4 had a life-changing impact on me during a difficult time. In fact, these verses (along with my friend Kevin, who I call Black Balls, but I probably shouldn’t tell you that) kept me in ministry at a point when I was thinking about quitting, at least for awhile.

Here’s what’s so stupid: We’ve read these verses, they tell us that God uses our suffering to mature us in ways we need to be matured, but still we hate it and complain when we suffer.

Starting a church involves lots of suffering. So do me a favor, remind me of this post when I start suffering. ‘Cause I’m an idiot and will probably be hating it and complaining a lot.