We tend to think the only trials that have spiritual significance are those directly related to spiritual topics, I.e. persecution for our faith. But James did not say, count it all joy when you encounter spiritual trials, but "count it all joy when you fall into various trials". Trials can be as simple as our baby waking us up in the middle of the night or having a flat tire on the way to work to facing cancer treatments.
We want trials to be over as quickly as possible, but trials seem to have a mind of their own. The nature of trials is that they are out of our control. We did not chose them to start and we cannot force them to stop. We may be tempted to apply a shortcut or resolve them in direct opposition to God's instruction, but that will only exasperate the problem.
Patience is waiting for God's resolution, however long that may take. While we wait, we place our trust in God and ask him for the wisdom we need to live victoriously through the circumstance (James 1:1-3). That trust in God makes all trials spiritually significant.
