Are You Ready?

Faith Under Pressure

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.  Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.  Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him." James 1:2-12

God's Word when read and meditated on with the counsel of the Holy Spirit, is like rain and water to plants and wild life. It's a necessity.

Here James is instructing his fellow believers not to give up in the face of their trials. As Paul wrote, we have not yet even resisted to the point of death, like so many of the early believers and many other believers all around the world who are undergoing their own trials right now. Compared to them, ours could be like a walk in the park, but of course trials still the same.

And make no mistake, will undergo our own trials, many of us are on one or two right now. But take heart that the Lord knows up to what point we can handle and He knows who we are deep down, including the real us who no one knows about. We are the ones who do not know who we are or what our limitations are or what we are capable of doing. Jesus did not promise us otherwise, He said in this world, we will have trouble, as He Himself did.

These trials which God allows us to go through are His way for us to know who we really are. These reveal the hidden us and it forces us to face who we are. It is His way for us to repent and turn away from things that we do that we shouldn't be doing, look to and turn towards Jesus, ask help from our loving Abba Father, grow our faith and mature along the way to achieve what God has in store for us. It is a process. God does not intend for us to stay as babies, He has big plans and so much to give us, but He cannot give it to us until we are ready and prepared for them.

"We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love." Romans 5:3-5