In Jesus’ name,
Amen
Day 18
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.
—James 1:2-4 (NIV)
Even if you did something wrong, God will work it out for your good. That’s pretty incredible when you think about it. He will fight for you if you are truly sorry and repent. He forgives and does not look back. He is interested in you, in your spiritual journey with Him. This is great news for many of us. God takes us under His wing because we are His children bought by a heavy price, the blood of His Son. There is nothing He will not do for us as long as it is in the parameters of His perfect will.
Are you facing many trials? James says to consider it pure joy. That alone is no easy feat. Why would he even suggest it? A trial is painful, agonizing, nothing anyone would choose for themselves willingly. He backs up his statement and then answers the tough question of why. Because the testing of your faith will build perseverance. To persevere is to come up higher after going through something hellacious. It means you came through it tougher, stronger, galvanized in Him far more than you were before. God is interested in more than rescuing you. He’s interested in the state of your spiritual well-being. Faith is a muscle, and during trials we are put into one heavy-duty weightlifting routine. It’s afterward, once the floodwaters have receded and the horizon is once again visible, that we come away stronger in Him and ready to take on His wonderful plan for our lives.
Lord, we crave the desires of Your heart for our lives. We come with arms raised, hearts and minds open, and pour out our praise to You. We trust in Your perfect plan for our lives. We know that nothing we have done can change that plan. You are all-powerful. We know that You can get us to where You need us to be in one breath, with one touch of your divine mercy and favor, one glance, one moment of grace. There is nothing too difficult for You. Thank you for accepting our repentance and working out our troubles for us. Although we long for the knot we’ve embroiled ourselves in to become untangled, we know that You will do so at the appointed time. Thank you for caring so deeply for us. Thank you for blessing us even through the trials.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
Day 19
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.
—James 1:5-6 (NIV)
The Bible says that God is a rewarder of those who seek Him. Seeking Him with your whole heart is part of God’s plan for intimacy with us. He wants us to be a part of the bigger picture. He loves our involvement with Him. The more we yearn to be near Him, study His Word, and spend time with Him in prayer, He reveals His goodness, showers us with His mercy and grace, and pours His favor upon us. I’m pretty sure we can all use those things poured over us.
James is telling us that when we lack wisdom we should consult with God. I’ve tried things my way and seen how that’s turned out. Not well. I’m ready to live a one hundred percent God-approved, God-driven life even if that means I have to make a spiritual U-turn once in a while. I hope you are, too.
The great thing about God (and there are many) is that He generously allows us to make as many U-turns as needed to get us back into His perfect will for our lives. When we ask God for wisdom, the way in which we know where He wants us to go is to follow the path of peace. If you don’t have peace either way, you can continue to pray, or if you’re forced to step out in faith in one direction and you don’t see that working out, don’t be afraid to take a step back and reevaluate with God once again.
A careful, prayerful life lends to a much more stable journey than running amuck and following our flesh. Our flesh is usually wrong about a lot of things. It tends to act on emotion. God acts on wisdom and reason. Flesh thrives on chaos, drama, and instant gratification. God thrives on peace, joy, and the perfecting of our faith. When we bend our ear and our spiritual will to Him, we will undoubtedly live wiser, and more stable lives while enjoying the rich spiritual fruits provided by His Holy Spirit. Now that we’ve tied ourselves to Jesus, we need to let Him envelop us like a membrane, unbreakable, undeterred by the things that surround us, completely soaking in His goodness and the things He wants for us day to day.
The second part of the verse talks about faith. Have you noticed a theme here? God can give you all the things that line up with His perfect will for your life, but He needs you to believe that He is capable of achieving them. Our unbelief disables God from proceeding with our requests and dims the light of His powers in our lives. Jesus said that in His hometown He wasn’t able to do many miracles (Mark 6:4-5). That alone is a clear example that our faith is the key that ignites the miracles the Lord is willing to give us. We must not doubt, not waver in disbelief when we ask something of
