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.”
James 1:2-4
Endurance. Perseverance. Hanging on. Not
letting go. Pushing through. Having stamina. Going the hard mile.
How do we develop this endurance? James says that it through the testing
of your faith. Faith is like a muscle. When you strengthen it, it
is able to be strengthened further and it makes you stronger. When you
are asked to pick up a hundred pound weight of frustration, circumstances,
anger, etc…, you can if your faith muscle has been strengthened with smaller
weights and you have continued to show up and do the reps. I lift 3 and 5
pound weights each morning to strengthen my arms and keep them from getting
flabby. I won’t win any competitions this way, but as I continue to
strengthen my arms, they will have more strength as I get older and I will be
able to use them for the long haul.
The testing of your faith produces endurance. Ever
wonder why God allows the hard things in life to come in and challenge your
faith? Here’s your answer. He wants you to be able to hold on
through the long haul. He wants you to stand firm in the hard times and
be strengthened to withstand the weightier times of life. He wants you to
endure through the fire and the flood and be found faithful when you stand
before His throne and enter into His kingdom.
As faith leads to endurance, endurance leads to your
“perfection” or maturity, your completeness. Colossians 2;10 says, “…and
in Him you have been made complete…” This is our eternal reality, nothing
else is needed for us to be complete in God’s eyes. Jesus’ death
accomplished it all. But in our temporal bodies and existence here on
earth completeness is a process. It is becoming more like Christ.
It is living in holiness. It is walking so close to the Savior that even
the difficult situations of life don’t crush you. You are able to endure
because you have exercised faith and learned endurance. You know the
Scripture promises of God and you walk in that reality with Jesus every moment
of every day. That is the perfect result. God desires relationship
above all else. Let you hope and joy and peace stem from being in His
presence.
Endure. Know what you believe. Stand firm
against the schemes of the devil. Delight in the presence of God through
praise. Put you faith in His word, not in life’s circumstances.
Eternity will come and this world will pass away. Put your apples in the
right basket!
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