Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. ~James 1:2-4 (NLT)
We are all under construction in one phase or another during our life here on earth. When you build a house, you have to start with some type of foundation. James teaches us in our scripture today that troubles strengthen our foundation and when they come our way, we should see them as an opportunity. It’s interesting that James says when we are “fully developed” we will be “perfect and complete, NEEDING NOTHING”. In many cases, the older we get the less we feel like we need. When we are children, we believe that we need everything we see and more. Have you ever seen a parent tell a child they aren't allowed to have something in a store? There's not a lot of contentment when children don't get what they want and for the spiritually immature, our discontentment not only sticks out like a sore thumb, but it also hinders our testimony. We have to trust God that we are exactly where we need to be knowing that the path is getting brighter, and we will prosper in direct correlation to the level that our soul prospers. Our soul is made up of our mind, our will, and our emotions. When we learn to make up our mind that we are going to put God and His word first place in our lives, our mind prospers. When we allow the Lord to have control over our will and end our petitions to Him with “thy will be done” knowing Gods will for us is to prosper and be in good health, our will undoubtedly prospers. When we decide that we aren’t going to let our emotions take us to a place where we speak or act out of accordance with how we know the Lord would want us to, our emotions prosper.
One of the greatest opportunities we have in trials is to learn contentment. Paul writes in 1 Timothy 6:6 “Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.” (NLT) No truer words have ever been penned. Living a righteous life and being content with what you have makes you rich beyond measure. So next time troubles come your way set your face like flint! Your victory in this life is not always accomplished by completing the course, sometimes we win just because we refused to give up and especially when we refuse to give up our peace! Seize the day one minute at a time if you have to and remember you are still under construction and your master builder is God Himself. He is making your foundation firm, strengthening you on the inside and on the outside to be a witness to the world that in good times or bad, He is truly all we need!
And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from His glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. ~Philippians 4:19 (NLT)
What is keeping you from spending time with God in His word today?
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