The School of Hard Knocks

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." James 1:2

In February of 1979, Howard Hendricks was a speaker at the Moody Founders' Week Conference. He had a good sense of humor used to convey a message. When speaking of the first chapter of James, he said, "We are all called to enroll in the school of hard knocks. The school colors are black and blue. The school song is Ouch. The first subject is trouble. That subject is not an elective. God knows the curriculum it takes to produce the desired result."

For example, in Acts 8, we read, "On that day (of the stoning of Stephen), a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria...those who had been scattered preached the Word wherever they went." (Acts 8:1)

The greater the heat, the greater the expansion. So it is in our day in China and other countries.When trouble came to the early church in Jerusalem, we do not read, "Those who had been scattered went everywhere griping, complaining, and saying, 'Why did God let this happen?'" 

In our time, many Christians in Ukraine are scattering because their homes are destroyed. We pray for those who are reaching out to them with a helping hand. 

Similarly, after the apostles were flogged and beaten, "The apostles left the Sanhedrin rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name." (Act 5:41)

May God give us grace to be honor roll graduates from the school of hard knocks.