Unshakeable - Daily Devotional - @4 Trials

Joy in the Trial — James 1:2-4 | Unshakeable: A Daily Christian Devotional Podcast

Scripture Reference:
James 1:2–4 (NIV) — “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

Welcome to Unshakeable: A Daily Christian Devotional Podcast — your daily 15-minute source of biblical strength and spiritual clarity. In today’s powerful episode, Reverend Ben Cooper brings encouragement and perspective for those walking through life's toughest seasons.

What do you do when you're hit from every side — financially, emotionally, relationally, or spiritually? James 1:2–4 offers a radical viewpoint: consider it pure joy. Not because suffering is pleasant, but because God uses every difficulty as a tool for our spiritual maturity.

Reverend Ben takes us beyond surface-level positivity into the deeper truth of how trials shape us into who God is calling us to be. Drawing parallels to Jesus’ agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, he reminds us that even Christ wrestled under the weight of suffering — sweating blood and asking for the cup to pass. Yet through His surrender came the greatest victory.

In this devotional, you'll be guided through:

• Why trials are not punishments, but platforms for growth
• How spiritual maturity is forged in discomfort
• The role of perseverance in your Christian journey
• Real hope when you're at the end of yourself

Ben also leads listeners in a heartfelt moment of prayer, lifting those burdened by health struggles, financial instability, emotional trauma, and relationship breakdowns. Through Scripture and intercession, this episode becomes more than a message — it’s a moment of breakthrough.

This message is for the weary heart, the questioning soul, and the one who’s about to give up. Don’t miss this reminder: you are being refined, not ruined. God’s plan through your pain is to make you complete, not lacking anything.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome to Unshakable Devotional
• 1:25 James 1:2-4: Consider Trials as Joy
• 6:03 Prayer for Strength in Trials
• 10:27 Finding Joy in Life's Challenges
• 14:24 Closing and Support Information

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:16

Welcome to Unshakable, a daily Christian devotional podcast. I'm Reverend Ben Cooper and each day we open up God's word to strengthen our faith, encourage our hearts and help us to stand on the word of God no matter what life throws our way. This is a listener-supported podcast and we can't do this without you. If this ministry is blessing you, please consider supporting us by £3 a month. Buy me a coffee. You can support us on rbchristianradionet. Every gift makes a difference, so, please, we value your prayers. Your support helps us reach people on the other side of the world for the gospel of Jesus Christ. And once again, welcome to the daily Christian devotional podcast, unshakeable. Let's dive into the devotion today and discover the power of God's unshakable truth. We are going to the New Testament this morning, this afternoon or the evening, wherever you are, for this devotional time together. And we're going to James. We're going to go to James, chapter one, and we're going to pick it up in verse 2, 3 and 4. The Bible says consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. What a scripture. Perseverance in trials. James, chapter 1, verses 2 to 4. What is your life looking like at this moment in time? The Bible says consider it pure joy. But, jesus, do you know my life? Jesus, can you see every area of my life? Lord, my life is upside down, inside out. Lord, my life is all over the place. Father, I call on you today. Lord, I'm laughing, but, lord, I'm trembling as I say this. Lord, father, consider it pure joy. You want me, lord, to consider pure joy in the fiery trials of life. Lord, I'm stretched financially, lord, I'm stretched, lord, in relationships. Lord, I'm stretched at work. I'm stretched at home. I'm stretched in ministry. Lord, I'm stretched in church. Lord, I'm stretched at school education. Lord, you want me to consider it pure joy, lord. Perseverance in trials, lord, I'm weary. Is anybody weary out there today? We want to encourage you today to hold on to the word of God, because God's word will bring peace, god's word will lift you, god's word will carry you Perseverance in trials. What are the trials we are facing?

Speaker 1: 3:06

As bible believing believers, I believe the anointing of god is over your life. I believe today, through this devotional, god is calling you and the text that we are in is speaking to each and every one of us. Consider it pure joy. My brothers, when you face trials of many kinds, lord, you're not just telling me there's going to be one, but, lord, many kinds. Lord, I need strength Because you know verse 3, because you know the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

Speaker 1: 3:43

I've got to go through the trial. I've got to go through the fire. I've got to go through the trial. I've got to go through the fire. I've got to go through the river. I've got to go through the storm. I've got to go through, as the psalmist writes so beautifully in Psalm 23, I've got to go through the valley.

Speaker 1: 4:10

Maybe it's like a Garden of Gethsemane experience when Jesus was in the garden and he said God, if it's possible, could you take this from me? But silence from heaven, no word from the Father, just Jesus crying, sweating droplets of blood through the trial. He knew what he was facing. He had to go through the Garden of Gethsemane to get strengthened. Maybe, just maybe, we're having a Garden of Gethsemane experience and I wonder how Christ was in his mind in that situation. I can gather very slightly, as he went through that trial, as he went through that trial, as he went through that stretching, as he went through that testing. Could we allow ourselves to say that Jesus was tested in the garden of Gethsemane? I believe he was, because he said Father, if it is possible, if there is another way, please could you take this cup from me.

Speaker 1: 5:03

I believe that every one of us, myself included, are being pushed beyond human reasoning, stretched beyond the human understanding of the mind. We are living in very powerful days. We are watching things across the news that can be very dishurting and can cause complicated thoughts in our mind, and we are looking at a world that is just moving so fast and there are trials everywhere. But the bible says my blessings are new every morning. I can't afford to look at the news and to take in what is happening and allow that to affect my faith, because I gotta trust God in every situation.

Speaker 1: 5:46

So, as I read this scripture today, coming from James, chapter 1, verse 2, lord, help me to consider it pure joy. Help me to consider pure joy in the face of adversity, lord, when I do a 360 degree turn around and there are many trials, because that's what the Bible says consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face. So, lord, you tell me that I will face trials of many kinds in the house, out the house, at work, not at work. In school, out of school. In business, out of business, commuting, traveling, financial, emotional, emotional trials.

Speaker 1: 6:31

Life is a trial. Life is a an exercise ground where I've got to keep moving. I've got to be like an athlete. I've got to make sure that I I keep in training. How do I keep in training? I read the word. I trust the word, because the word will build my faith, the word will give me peace. The word of god will give me strength in the face of adversity, because the Bible tells me very, very clear consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds, many kinds.

Speaker 1: 7:05

So, father, I thank you that right now there might be many kinds of trials before me. Shall we break a moment and just have a moment of prayer. Father, I come to you now and through this scripture, this morning, this afternoon, this evening, wherever we are scattered across the world, I do pray, father, for every one of us, that we will consider it pure joy. And as we go through the fiery furnace right now, lord, I pray that sickness will bow. At the name of Jesus, lord the trials, dear God, of health, the trials of financial pain. Lord, will you bring healing today, in the name of Jesus.

Speaker 1: 7:47

So, lord, I thank you for the power of prayer. I thank you, lord, that perseverance is developing, lord, within us and peace is around us. But today, lord, as we go through the trial, through this prayer time, through this devotional moment, lord, with you for these 15 minutes, father, we pray for such an outpouring of your spirit. So, lord, as we go through the trials of life, father, as we go and kneel in the garden of gethsemane this morning with tears running down our face, lord, as we travel to work, lord, as we commute to a job that is really hard and tiring, lord, and when we're getting treated really bad, holy spirit, please, as we go to the trial of work, the trial of life, the trials of Lord, as we go into areas, lord, of unfamiliar territory.

Speaker 1: 8:37

Lord, of these trials of life, father, we thank you that perseverance in trials. So, lord, I pray that this perseverance will turn to faith. Today, I pray that we will find such a strength in it, such a peace in the word of God. On this day, because this is the day that the Lord has made, I shall rejoice and be glad. And I need your strength, father. So, lord, help me through this prayer time, to consider this pure joy, that as I go through the fiery furnace of life, as I go through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, because the joy of the Lord is my strength. And I pray, lord, for everybody listening to this devotion today, this devotional podcast, that the spirit of the living God will bless them wherever they are, in the glorious name of Jesus, and your love will just wrap around everybody today.

Speaker 1: 9:37

So, lord, as we reflect on the scriptures through prayer, through supplication, through meditation, this morning, father, help me consider it pure joy when I face trials of many kinds of different distances. Lord, short distance, long distance. Father, come Holy Spirit, this testing. Father, you tell me, lord, because it says in verse 3, because you know, the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Lord, I'm not sure if I want to be tested in my faith. Lord, I'm not sure how I'm coping, lord, as a Bible-believing believer. So, lord, I need you. Lord, you tell me that faith cometh by hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word of God. So, lord, through this raw recording, this devotional podcast, this reality of life that I live, as I walk forward, as I move forward, as I experience the trials of life as a human being, but also as a Bible-believing believer, a born-again Christian Father, will you help me? Because, lord, I need to persevere in trials, according, lord, to your word.

Speaker 1: 11:00

James, chapter 1, 2 to 4, spirit of the Living God, I don't feel I've got strength today. Lord, sisters and brothers, do you feel that you've got strength today? And, brothers, do you feel that you've got strength today? Are you lacking enthusiasm? Are you lacking in that fervor? Have you reached that, that end of the tarmac of the road of life? And you're saying to yourself I can't cope with another trial. If anything happens at work, I don't know how I'm going to react. I'm, I'm at the end of this relationship at this moment in. I don't know how I'm going to react. I'm at the end of this relationship at this moment in time. I don't know how I'm going to be. Lord, I've reached the end of the money pot, lord. The wages have gone, lord, and I've still got another week or more to go.

Speaker 1: 11:45

Lord, universal credit, social housing, mortgages to pay rent, to pay on businesses what trials are you facing today? Spiritual trials, physical trials. What are you facing today? I pray that the Holy Spirit will lead you and God will guide you, and the fire of God will lift you up like never before. I thank God for your life, I thank God for everything that you're in and I pray today that the love of Jesus Christ will just be wrapped around you as you experience life. And life is a trial. Life is an experience, Life is beautiful, life is powerful. Life can be scary because it moves in and out of everything, and I pray that, wherever you are right now, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, that the fire of God will descend on you and you will feel his very presence and the anointing and the love of God.

Speaker 1: 12:57

As we gently just gently pedal out of this devotional podcast, I'm going to read this scripture again, and this is for me and this is for you. Today, the spirit of the Lord is over you. Everything will be okay. So, through this 15 minutes of devotional time, together and with the Holy Spirit, let's listen to this scripture one more time James, chapter 1, verse 2 to 4.

Speaker 1: 13:29

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know, the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. Do you know what? Through the trial, we're going to lack nothing. Through the valley, we're going to lack nothing. And through God's unshakable word of God, I pray today with all of my being that you will feel his love and his mercy, and his goodness and the presence of the Holy Spirit will just be with you wherever you are. God loves you. There is power in the name of Jesus Christ.

Speaker 1: 14:13

Thank you for joining us today. Wherever you are across this world, may the anointing of God be over you. As I just said. Thanks for joining us today on Unshakeable, a daily Christian devotional podcast. If today's devotion has encouraged you, please consider sharing this episode out to your family, your friends, your pastors, your leaders, your church group, your social networks. It will help people discover God's word. And please remember this is a listener supported ministry and you can find us on rbchristianradionet. Please pray us, but also buy us a coffee. It's so easy to do. Click the coffee cup on RB Christian Radio and help us push the word of God. And remember I'm Reverend Ben Cooper. Stay strong, stay rooted. I'll see you tomorrow for another unshakable word from Scripture. God bless you.