Daniel: My church just started going through the book of James. If you’ve ever read James 1, you might know how difficult life can be at times. While that might not be the most enjoyable moment, James tells us to “consider it pure joy” when we face trials. 

Now, why is James telling us to do this? You might have heard it said that Jesus won’t give us any challenge too hard for us to take; that’s not entirely true. There will be times that you can’t handle, at least not alone. 

Say there’s a tough decision coming up, and you don’t know what to do; James gives us a simple answer: ask God for wisdom. “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all.” – James 1:5

See, we are to count it all joy when we run into trouble because Jesus will help us every step of the way. We are to count it all joy because trials give us a chance to put faith in God. It’s an opportunity to put trust in Him and allow ourselves to take a backseat in life.

If you’re going through something, stop, right now. Pray for guidance, strength, help, a solution, anything; for God gives wisdom generously. Take a step back, hand over the wheel, and let Jesus take control. Count it all joy instead.

Gabriella: There’s always something to be grateful for even when you think there’s not. All things come to an end, and sometimes we forget that includes negative things happening around us. 

Think about it: The truth is that we’ve never been in control when it comes to life’s most crucial elements. The only thing that holds us up—and the thing we can be most grateful for—is the grace of God, our Father, and that won’t change. God is never out of His depth, and therefore, we’re safe when we’re in life’s “deep end” because we can trust that He will always carry us in His arms.

You have chances to win THIS WEEK!

Sonfest Trivia – THIS WEEK on The Morning Thing and The Afternoon Drive will have trivia about this year’s event and past Sonfests. If you are the first person to answer correctly, you win two tickets to Sonfest 2026!
Tune into The Morning Thing at 7:30am or The Afternoon Drive at 4:50pm. Congratulations, Amanda of Mount Vernon, for guessing our trivia correctly and taking home tickets for Sonfest!!

Name That Tune!

This week’s Name That Tune winner was Jan from Howard, who won TWO $5 gift cards to Watts Restaurant in Utica for correctly guessing… Brandon Lake and Nick Jonas – The Author!

Tune in Tomorrow for the NZ Top 10 with Joe and Brock

Thanks so much for listening!

– Daniel & Gabriella