When hardship comes, respond with gratitude and trust instead of anger or entitlement. James 1 teaches that trials test your faith and build endurance. Negative emotions erode the joy of the Holy Spirit, so view challenges as opportunities for spiritual growth.
In the area of your mind, the enemy will battle you for your joy. Think about if you face a disappointment at work, but instead of responding with entitlement, instead of responding with cynicism, instead of responding with anger, you respond with gratitude and trust. Think about if you face some tragedy. Maybe you lose a loved one. Maybe you miss an opportunity. Maybe something you worked hard toward just simply falls apart. These things, if we're not careful, can get inside of our hearts and cause us to lose the influence of the joy of the Spirit. Dear brothers and sisters, the scripture says in James chapter 1, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.
