James 1:2-3

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trails of many kinds, 3.) because you know that the testing of your faith produces patience.  

Thought:

Just as we prune a shrub or tree to force it grow into a more perfect form, so God does with us.  I love this passage by William Barclay:  

. . . these tests or trials are not meant to make us fall, they are meant to make us soar. They are not meant to defeat us; they are meant to be defeated. They are not meant to make us weaker; they are meant to make us stronger. Therefore we should not bemoan them; we should rejoice in them.  

Notice that the tests/trials should produce growth.  Sometimes we just do not learn the lesson; we fail, we regress…this ultimately leads to another lesson learned.