Emotions function like lights on a dashboard. When the signs appear—a tightening body, a sharpening tone, racing thoughts—they signal a choice. Rather than reacting impulsively, we can slow down, pause, and invite the Holy Spirit into that moment.
In this episode, pastors Whit George and Casey Shirley explore what James chapter 5 teaches us about steadfast endurance and the true meaning of faith.
Whenever there’s conflict, we all react differently—and often, how we respond has roots in how we saw conflict handled growing up. Some of us grew up in homes where tension was avoided at all costs. Others learned that anger was power. Some watched it resolved quickly, while others saw it simmer for days. These early patterns shape how we engage today.
But conflict isn’t just about the other person. It’s a mirror.
When we feel anxious or angry, we must learn to pause and ask: what’s going on in me?
James writes, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” (James 1:2–3)
Trials come in all shapes—relational friction, disappointment, unmet expectations—and yet, Scripture calls them occasions for rejoicing. Not because they feel good, but because they reveal what’s in us and invite us to grow. It’s an opportunity to be curious rather than frustrated.
Emotions function like lights on a dashboard. When the signs appear—a tightening body, a sharpening tone, racing thoughts—they signal a choice. Rather than reacting impulsively, we can slow down, pause, and invite the Holy Spirit into that moment.
Our is often to manage our emotions on our own, to fix them or justify them. But the Spirit offers a better way—He helps us react differently, and gratitude often follows.
If your past experiences with conflict or correction were painful, this may be harder. But remember: you’re not responsible for someone else’s emotional functioning.
You are responsible for your emotional connection to them. You get to choose whether your reaction builds trust or breaks it.
James asks, “Do we believe the Judge is standing at the door?”
And just as importantly: do we believe He is compassionate and merciful?
God sees what we don’t. Even in our “not yet,” He is moving us toward Christlikeness. When we begin to respond differently, lower to speak, slower to anger, trust builds. We start to recognize God’s presence in our growth.
James has confronted us, yes—but he’s also reminded us that every good and perfect gift comes from above. If you can believe that, then you can trust Him with your anger, your shame, your defensiveness. You can say, I trust You. You want my good.
That’s the foundation for experiencing the book of James not as condemnation, but as hope.
When pressure comes, whatever is inside us spills out.
Two things can be true at once: life can be hard, and God can still be good.
We may have a certain outcome in mind, but faith also means surrendering to the will of the Lord. Our perspective is limited; He sees what we don’t.
Think of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: “Our God is able to deliver us, and He will deliver us. But even if He doesn’t, we will not bow.” Their confidence wasn’t in an outcome, but in the character of God.
Faith that depends on outcomes will always be fragile. But faith that depends on God Himself is unshakable.
Hebrews 11 calls us to faith in the unseen God who is forming us through every trial. The ultimate example is Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane: “Father, if You are willing, take this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will but Yours be done.”
That’s what spiritual maturity looks like. A heart that can pray both “I’m asking boldly” and “I trust You fully.”
Confirm me, Lord, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, and give me grace to be strong inwardly and soul, and to cast out from it all unprofitable business of the world and of the flesh, that it may not be led by unstable desires of earthly things, and grant that I may behold all things as in this world as they are transitory and of short abiding, and I myself also to pass away together with them. For nothing under the sun can long abide, but all in vanity and affliction of spirit. Therefore, O Lord, give me true heavenly wisdom that I may learn to seek you and to find you and above all things to love you and to understand and know all other things as they are after after the direction of your wisdom and not otherwise. and give me grace also to withdraw myself from those who flatter me and patiently to tolerate those who grieve me so that the way I have begun will bring me to a good and blessed ending. Amen.
Listen to the message: How to Respond to Adversity
In this episode, Whit reads a prayer from the book A Guide to Prayer for All God’s People by Ruebon P. Job and Norman Shawchuck
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