January 13

James 1:2-4
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (NKJV)

 

Many times as we encounter trials we feel mixed up—like a lot of pieces in our life are out of order.  But God tells us in His Word to count these times as joy!  This is difficult.  The important thing is to keep your eyes on the prize—an eternal reward in heaven, spiritual maturity, the glory of God.

I learned how to solve a Rubik’s cube tonight.  It seems a perfect example of enduring as you keep your eyes on the prize.  I’ve never solved a Rubik’s cube before (unless you count taking the stickers off and putting them back so it looks solved!).  It was hard and frustrating, but the person teaching me the method for solving was very patient.  Sometimes I got mad and told him I did the step right and it didn’t work, so he must have written it down wrong.  Even when I made such accusations, he still rejoiced with me when I got a step right.  He kept teaching me and correcting me and helping me until I was able to solve it.  And then I went on to solve it all by myself!  As I kept doing the steps, I discovered that the step was wrong because I did it wrong—his directions were right all along.

It seems this is what we do with God.  He offers us a great adventure and we accept.  But we get frustrated and mad when it gets a little tough and hard to understand some things—when we go through trials.  When things aren’t going the way we want, we tell God that we’ve been doing things right, so He must have made a mistake somewhere along the way.  Despite these accusations, He remains with us, patiently instructing us in the way to go, the steps to take.  He rejoices with our triumphs and is pleased when we give Him the glory.  We discover that He was never wrong, we were.  And we (sometimes) can see how He worked it all together for good.

Remember that God has you on this journey for His purposes, not yours.  If you will let Him be in control, and patiently endure the trials along the way, and let Him teach you in the midst, you will learn so much—far more than if you fight it.  And in the end, you will be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing!