When Trouble Comes

       Our church decided not to have services on Sunday evening, October 29.  Well, it came time to go to church and my wife wanted to go somewhere so I chose two churches that would be a possibility.  One large church near us has changed their Sunday evening activity to what they call "Campus Groups."   I had no idea what that meant, so decided to go to Grace Church in Roanoke.  Upon arriving at the church, there was a sign on the door which said, "No Evening Services on October 29."  So, we left.  I could have chose a couple of churches of different doctrines, but ended up at home.  I tuned in Sermon Audio on the internet and found a church in Greenville, NC.  I tuned it in and was blessed beyond measure with a message from the new president of Bob Jones University, Dr. Pettit.  My spelling of his name is questionable, but it was an excellent message on "trouble."   James 1:2 says, " My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;"  
      What do you do when "trouble" comes into your life?  That was the major question that the speaker addressed in his message.  Certainly, we all are confronted with "trouble" in our lives.  It can come from sickness, loss of a job or a loved one, discouragement, depression, or any other interruption into our perfect lives.  One of things mentioned of course in the Book of James is the consideration of joy.  Now, who wants to do that?  When trouble comes into our lives, it is rather hard for us to be happy about it.  God, on the other hand, uses trouble to develop our faith.  James goes on to say that this trouble is going to improve your faith.  Once the trouble gets taken care of, guess what?  You get another one.  Not only that, you might get two or three, or even four more at the same time.  The speaker went on to say that when trouble comes into his life, he immediately goes to the Book of Psalms.  He stated that the Book of Psalms is like a medical IV for trouble.  All of the Psalms are good.  They all work.  So, praise God today even for the trouble that comes into your life.  That means you are still growing in your faith.