Do you ever feel like you just can’t get ahead? Like the world is out to get you? Like the odds are stacked against you? My guess is that you are in the middle of some crisis right now. Perhaps you just came out of one. If neither of those is true, buckle your seatbelt, because there’s probably one just around the corner!

James tells us to “consider it a sheer gift when tests and challenges come at you from all sides” (James 1:2, The Message). What? Really? Consider the crises of life sheer gifts? How is that possible?

James answers that question when he says, “You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So, don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way” (James 1:3-4, The Message).

Any time we find ourselves in some life catastrophe, we have two choices. We can either (1) let our faith grow through the calamity, or (2) let our faith wither in the storm.  We can either grow closer to God, or we can move farther away from God.  James challenges us to change our perspective by looking at the crises of life as tests or opportunities to grow closer to God!

The situation may seem overwhelming. The circumstances almost unbearable. The odds may be stacked against you. But at the end of the day, even if the outcome of the crisis isn’t exactly what you had hoped for, if you grow closer to God through it, you beat the odds!