Three Questions to Help You Handle Hardship
1. What Form Does My Hardship Take?
A. Trials

James 1:2 (NLT) – Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.
A. Temptations

James 1:12a (NLT) – God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation.

James 1:13-15 (NLT) – And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.

“I was in my late 20’s, single, and with every prospect of remaining so. Sometimes lust or a bit of fantasizing would seem so inviting and so easy to justify. After all, hadn’t I already given up more than most Christians just by being disabled? Didn’t my wheelchair entitle me to a little slack now and then?”


“When God allows you to suffer, do you have tendency to use your trials as an excuse for sinning? Or do you feel that since you’ve given God a little extra lately by taking abuse, that He owes you a “day off?

2. How Will I Face My Hardship?
A. Choose Joy
James 1:2 (NLT) – Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.

Hebrews 12:2b (NLT) – …Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.

B. Patiently Endure

James 1:3-4 (NLT) – For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

Romans 5:3-4 (NLT) – We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.

Warren Wiersbe: “In the Bible, patience is not a passive acceptance of circumstances. It is a courageous perseverance in the face of suffering and difficulty.”

C. Seek Wisdom

James 1:5-8 (NLT) – If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.


D. Humbly Trust God

James 1:9-11 (NLT) – Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field. The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements.

3. What Fruit Will My Response to Hardship Produce?
James 1:3-4 (NLT) – For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

James 1:12 (NLT) – God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.