Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. ~James 1:12 (NASB)
Just as we have responsibilities to do the Lord’s will in the good times, we are also called to do His will when life is not so comfortable. We don’t bring all of our trials, troubles and temptations on ourselves. We have an enemy and he knows our weaknesses. But the power to bear up and act like our Lord is available no matter what we are going through if we keep the right perspective. In James 1:2 we are told to “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials…” (NIV) I have to admit that “to count it all joy” is not my first thought when troubles cause an internal conflict between doing God’s will or my own. Oftentimes not doing what we want to do can be aggravating. Have you ever thought “Seriously, Lord, you want me to keep praying for this person when I haven’t seen any changes except what appears to be changes for the worse in years?” or “Seriously, Lord, you want me to leave it up to you and just walk in love with those who have hurt my feelings?”
What we need to learn to say is “Seriously, Lord, I will do your will, with your help, and watch you work in every situation in my life for my good!” The only way we can learn to say that is to change our perspective and count it all joy. To count it all joy is to get and keep our hopes and confidence in God up about everything! Have you ever had someone tell you not to get your hopes up? Well that goes completely against what the Lord tells us to do! We are told in Hebrews 10:35 “So do not throw away your confidence, it holds a great reward”. You cannot be confident with no hope! And you will know when you are confident because you will be expecting something to happen. You will be looking for the Lord to move in your life. You will be waking up every morning anticipating today to be the day that you see a breakthrough. You will be expecting the miraculous and you will be seeing it because you have put your faith in God to work and He promises you will not be disappointed! Hoping in God keeps our soul anchored but confident faith is what brings the power on the scene. The Lord tells us in Hebrews 11:1 that faith is the substance of things hoped for. It is the catalyst that turns a dream into a reality. Faith moves what you are hoping for from your “mind’s eye” to something you can see with your physical eyes. The Lord tells us in Galatians 6:9 "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (NIV) How many harvests have you lost from abandoning your hope and subsequently your confidence? How many dreams have you given up on? Some of them you don’t even remember anymore. Don’t let troubles distract you. They are just a ploy of the enemy to get your focus off God. The bigger the troubles the higher our hopes should be because that makes us candidates for even bigger miracles!
But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of the man that diligently seek Him. ~Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV)
What dreams or desires have you put on the back burner or given up on? What could you do to reignite them?
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