Trials are anything that cause you to question your faith. James doesn't say "If trials come," he says "WHEN trials come."
"Suffering is a beautiful hermeneutic." - Dr. John Piper
We come to know God not in the blessing, but in the breaking.
Trials "hyper-stand us;" they train us like a muscle to be stronger in the future.
Too often we focus on the pain of the trial, not the product of the trial. If you focus on the pain, you will become disillusioned with God and the Church.
Tragedy introduces us to our own heart - Jeremiah 17.9.
Trials reveal not God's absence but His presence. Theme of 2 Corinthians = ministry is death. Chapter 1 = the comfort you recieve from God makes you compassionate toward others in pain.
Trials knock down the things that we trust other than God. Idolatry-killer.
Godless leadership is leading from our own strengths & gifts (i.e. Samson).
Godly leadership is leading from our weakness (i.e. Gideon - prunes the pretenders away).
The man that God uses mightily He wounds greatly.
Why would God take away your weakness when that's the trigger for His power?