05-01-12 "Hopeful Perseverance" James 1:1-8

The passage I read was James 1:1-8

You can find that passage here:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James%201:1-8&version=NIV

The verse that most stood out to me:

² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,^[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

As I reflect:

This week’s focus is “hopeful perseverance”.  A common denominator among the passages chosen thus far is that hardship is not something to be sad about or even fearful of.   Rather the contrary, hardship is something to rejoice over because we know it is going to be used for our good.  In this 1^st part of James we read “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.”  This reminded me of a few other passages from God.

Romans 5: ³ Not only so, but we^[c] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. 

Matthew 5: ¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Romans 8: ²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[a] have been called according to his purpose.

Those are of course just a few of the many that carry this same feeling.  At this point in the week my view of persecution isn’t just that it’s not bad, but that it strengthens in a way that nothing else can.  I would liken hardships and trials to a workout.  The best workouts for the human body are the ones where you push yourself beyond what you have previously done.  The reason for this is because the only way to improve upon you physical condition in a workout is to strive to do more each time.  Many times during a workout we may want to quit because it’s hard.  But if we persevere and push through those times, we find a since of accomplishment and a reward of better health for having done so.  We are very similar to this in our spiritual and mental lives as well.  The things that grow our spiritual and mental strength and abilities are often the things which we least desire or those which cause us the greatest discomfort.  But just as you push through when you want to quit at the ymca, we also must persevere when we are under mental, spiritual, and for many across the globe even physical attack.  For these times can be the very passage to our becoming stronger in our faith, hope, and daily work in the harvest.   Rejoice when times of hardship are upon you and trust in God.  He may very well be answering your prays to be a greater witness or to further His kingdom.