July 16th, 2019

James 1:2-4 2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.We are supposed to rejoice and be happy when we suffer hardships and temptations in our lives. How hard was that sentence to swallow? Our daily lives are full of hardships and temptations. More often than most, we tend to feel sorry for ourselves in these situations. When in fact, we are supposed to rejoice. 1 Corinthians 10:13 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God [is] faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear [it].” Those hardships and temptations are to help us grow stronger as Christians and closer to the Lord. Hardships and temptations will build patience. Romans 5:3-4 “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope.” Lord knows I need to be more patient. How we react to situations can and will allow others to see us for who we want or may not want to be seen as. Actions speak louder than words! Everyone is watching! It is hard, quite often, to take a breather, let go, and turn to God when we are tempted or fall into hardships. It is hard when everything seems to be going wrong that day like overslept, late for work, flat tire, etc. All of those things, even though it doesn't feel like it at the time, are meaningless when you step back and look at the bigger picture. There are so many lost souls out there. Lost souls that are watching you to see how you react to situations even those meaningless ones. We also face those hardships and temptations that seem to make things unbearable like a loved one with an addiction, bad news regarding health, or the loss of a loved one. Again, these situations can help us grow spiritually. I know that is hard to understand, but we can grow closer to God in these situations too, through prayer. These situations are shaping your testimony and your relationship with the Lord. 1 Peter 5:10 “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” “1 Corinthians 2:5 “That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” If we let go and turn to God rather than rely on ourselves, we can see that. Reminder: Just because you pray for change doesn't mean it will happen in an instant and sometimes maybe not at all. God wants to see us grow spiritually. So don't give up so quickly when things in your life are not changing on your time frame. It all happens on God's time and for a reason. Everyone has a story to tell. Being a child of God, we have all endured pain and suffering in some way. How you handle that pain and suffering due to hardships or temptations is on you. Your Story is Your Testimony!