James 1:2-8 "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."
We're going to make camp in by the pure,
refreshing body of living water called James for a few days.
Now that we know what sin is - anything we're
about to do or not going to do that stirs that 'double check' in our spirit -
let's move on to temptation.
So, we walk over to the Lake of James and look
down. What do we see? A reflection of ourselves. Jesus walks up beside us and
out of His reflection we hear the words, "Consider it pure joy (insert your name
here), whenever you face trials of many kinds..." SAY WHAT??? "Well, you know
this time of trial and testing of your faith is developing perseverance and
tenacity and and strength in you to make it to keep climbing this mountain that
is in your way." Well, the heck the perseverance and all that other stuff You
said. How in the world can I 'consider it pure joy' (insert rolling of eyes).
"You don't see what I see in You - I see an overcomer and mountain-climber. You
don't see what on the other side of the mountain." Yeah, probably more
mountains... "Remember when I took you by the hand and pulled you up from the
water that was up to your neck. You were about to drown and I saved you."
Well, yeah. "Remember when I faced that gigantic brick wall in your way and
wondered how you could scale it." Uh-huh. "What did I do?" You were behind me
making sure I wouldn't fall (insert kicking the dirt). "Have I ever lied to
you?" No, Lord, you have never lied to me. "Then think about this: You can
have My joy inside of you as you're going through this trial or testing, because
I am here with you and because I won't let you fall and since I've never lied to
you - you can believe that this will make you mature and complete in Me and Me
in you so that you will not lack anything."
As He bends down and stirs the water with His
finger, He says, "Y'know, if you lack the wisdom to know which way to go - which
path to take that will lead you up the mountain in the shortest amount of time,
all you have to do is ask and then believe that you're going to get it. So, you
may not have happy feelings inside about what you're running into on this
mountain, but you can still have joy, because you're not alone and because you
are getting stronger."
A bit paraphrased, but we can have joy in the
journey - which reminds me of a song....
Joy in the Journey - Michael Card
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