Worthy Brief - 1/8/2026
Friend, suffering with purpose: trials that shape us!
James 1:2-4 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
One of the hardest truths of our walk as believers is this: suffering is not a detour from God’s purpose -- it is often the pathway through it. The new creation life does not exempt us from trials, but it does give us the resilience to endure them with hope. Our identity in Yeshua (Jesus) anchors us when circumstances shake us, reminding us that what we face does not define us and that nothing we endure is ever wasted in God’s hands.
James calls us to consider it joy when we encounter various trials, not because pain is pleasant, but because God is purposeful. Trials test our faith, and tested faith produces perseverance. Perseverance, in turn, matures us -- forming character that cannot be shaped any other way. What feels like pressure is often preparation. What feels like resistance is often refinement. God is not absent in the trial; He is actively at work within it.
There is no testimony without a test. Every story of God’s faithfulness is forged in moments where trust was required before understanding arrived. Trials expose what we believe, strip away false supports, and drive us deeper into dependence on God. They reveal whether our identity is rooted in circumstances or anchored in Yeshua. The new creation learns to endure not by denying pain, but by trusting God’s hand in the process.
Suffering with purpose reframes hardship. We no longer ask only to escape the trial; we ask to be formed through it. Hope rises not because the trial is short, but because God is faithful. Our identity in Yeshua gives us the strength to stand, the patience to wait, and the confidence to believe that what God has begun, He will bring to completion.
The believer shaped by trial emerges with depth, compassion, and unshakable faith. What once threatened to break us becomes the very thing God uses to build us. In the Kingdom, suffering is never the final word -- transformation is.
Friend, stand firm in the trial before you. Do not interpret hardship as abandonment or delay as denial. The same God who called you is shaping you, even now. Let endurance rise within you. Let hope anchor your soul. What you are walking through is producing something eternal. The test will give birth to a testimony, and the trial will yield maturity. Do not quit. Do not retreat. Trust the work of God unfolding in you. You are being strengthened, refined, and prepared -- stand, endure, and hope.
Your family in the Lord with much agape love,
George & Baht Rivka (Orlando, Florida)
Deadly Swiss New Year’s Bar Fire Exposes Safety Lapses, Prompts Criminal Probe
Fire safety inspections had not been carried out for several years at the Swiss mountain bar where a New Year’s party blaze killed 40 people and injured at least 116 others, local authorities confirmed Wednesday, as investigators widened a criminal probe into the tragedy.
U.S. Seizes Venezuelan Oil Tankers, Tightens Control Over Crude Exports
The United States on Wednesday signaled to Russia and other powers that it intends to assert control over Venezuela and its oil sector by seizing two sanctioned tankers and unveiling a plan to channel Venezuelan crude sales through U.S.-approved mechanisms.
U.S. Seizes Russian-Flagged Oil Tanker As Washington, Moscow Trade Warnings
Russia and the United States edged closer to confrontation after U.S. forces seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the North Atlantic, prompting sharp protests from Moscow and assertive statements from senior U.S. officials.
U.S. Seizes Russian-Flagged Oil Tanker As Washington, Moscow Trade Warnings
Russia and the United States edged closer to confrontation after U.S. forces seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the North Atlantic, prompting sharp protests from Moscow and assertive statements from senior U.S. officials.
Israel-Palestinian Conflict
Trump Pushes Gaza Phase Two Without Preconditions as Israel Presses Hamas on Hostage, Disarmament
The administration of Donald Trump has informed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that it remains committed to securing the return of the final deceased Israeli hostage and to disarming Hamas, but will not make either a precondition for launching phase two of its Gaza peace plan, according to a Times of Israel exclusive.
Pro-Palestinian Protesters Block Tel Aviv Flight At Milan Airport, Raising Security Questions
Questions have been raised about Italian security arrangements after pro-Palestinian protesters physically blocked passengers from boarding a flight to Tel Aviv at Milan’s main airport, forming a human barrier at the gate and delaying the departure for more than two hours.
Inside the United States
Trump Pulls U.S. Out of 66 Global Bodies, Declares End to ‘Wasteful Globalism’ and Reasserts American Sovereignty
Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a sweeping presidential memorandum directing the United States to withdraw from 66 international organizations, including 31 entities tied to the United Nations, in a major escalation of his “America First” agenda.
Death Attributed To Enhanced Immigration Enforcement In Minnesota
A protestor who U.S. Department of Homeland Security said tried to kill immigration officers was fatally shot Wednesday in Minnesota's Twin Cities, less than 24 hours after an Ecuadorian wanted for murder in his home country was taken off the streets there.
Christian News
Pakistan Christians Face Deadly New Year As Church Vandalized And Father Of Three Killed
New Year celebrations for Pakistan’s Christian minority have been overshadowed by the killing of a Christian father of three, the vandalism of a church, and renewed fears that strict Islamic blasphemy laws could fuel further violence against religious minorities.