Joyful Perseverancefeatured

The brother of Jesus, James, starts out his letter to first century Christians (and us) by telling us to rejoice in our trials.  He says, “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.”

I like the idea of being mature and complete in my faith, but I am not all that fond of going through trials of any kind!  As I studied this verse, I discovered that James gives us a few steps to move us to the point of considering it “pure joy” when those inevitable problems come our way.

My first reaction when a trial or problem comes my way is to intensely desire for it to just go away – poof! – disappear!  I have learned, however, that wishing the problem away is highly ineffective.  Ignoring the problem doesn’t work either (just in case you have tried that approach!).   Did you notice that James uses the phrase “face trials”?  That is our first step – we face our trials head on.  We don’t run away or try to avoid them.

I’ve tried praying for God to remove problems from my life, however, in most cases God has known that His best plan for me is to face them.  The good news is that we don’t face them alone.  Romans 8:35 & 37 tell us, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? . . .  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” What a comfort it is to know that whatever the trial, He is facing it with me.

James second step is in the phrase “testing your faith.”  I think James is talking about clinging tenaciously to our faith when times are hard.  The kind of clinging that James is talking about is not motionless, hand-wringing, wishful thinking.  Clinging requires action.  It may mean purposefully reading scriptures to bolster our faith.  I find that reading the Psalms is a tremendous source of strength for me.  It may be reaching out to a faithful friend who has been through something similar.  It may be remembering how God has seen us through previous problems.  For all of us, it will likely involve spending a great deal of time pouring out our hearts to God in prayer.

Step three is where we begin to see some results.  Facing our trials and clinging steadily to our faith develops perseverance.  The dictionary says perseverance is “steady persistence in a course of action or purpose, especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.”  Perseverance is a sign of strength.  We build spiritual muscles as we go through trials.  I think that’s why God allows us to go through them.  He doesn’t want us to be spiritual wimps!  He wants us to be spiritually strong, mature and prepared for the next trial.  In John 16:33 Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

If I can get to the point where I can joyfully accept the trials that come my way and experience His peace while persevering through them, I would be what James would call “mature and complete.”  Let me be candid and tell you that I am not there yet!

I chose the painting above to accompany this devotion because I experienced some trials in painting it.  Many techniques I tried just made it look uglier and uglier.  One lesson I have learned in painting is not to give up on a painting, just persevere.  Sound familiar?  Finally, it began to come together.  I like to think that my painting became mature and complete! 

This painting looks like it has seen some hard times and it’s a little rough around the edges, but these qualities give it character.  There is some gold and copper metallic paint on it that symbolizes the strength that comes from being hammered into shape or purified by fire.   There’s beauty in character and strength.   

Our character and strength and beauty come from joyfully persevering through whatever trials come our way.  We can’t do it on our own – even though we often try!  The good news is that He is faithful to walk with us every step of the way, providing us with His joy, His peace and His strength.  Thanks be to God! [jetpack_subscription_form]