Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Consider

CONSIDER

James 1:2-4, 12

The Message vv. 2-4: “Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so that you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”

Today challenges us more than yesterday. Tomorrow may be even harder to get through. We saw that when Sarah acted out prematurely (pre-ma-TUR-lee means ahead of time, hastily, rashly), God’s best wasn’t received. (See I’ve Got it, and So Far, So Good? devotions). And we saw that Jacob’s struggle with God to claim His blessing was God’s best in Worth the Struggle devotion.

“Consider” is an accounting term that means to evaluate (e-VAL-u-ate means measure or calculate). James wrote these words to encourage us to evaluate our troubles as seen from God’s eyes. James is offering us a divine perspective, instead of viewing hardship from a human point-of-view. Surprising benefits to struggling through suffering and hardship are revealed when seen through the Father’s eyes.

We saw Jeremy cheer Benjy’s victory against his twin brother, Danny, in Worth the Struggle devotion. Can you imagine that Jesus and James are cheering for your victory in every struggle? Humanly speaking, trials hurt. But in God’s view, struggles help. They help by evaluating how we respond to difficulty. Let us “consider” what God wants trials to accomplish in His kids’ lives. Every difficulty tests, measures, and grows our faith. God notices our growth, (and we can, too). The next test finds us dealing with, or putting up with the trial better. (Less drama, less emotional wear-and-tear).

Into every struggle, our Father has hidden a beautiful character gem. Whether we grow or mark time (remain unchanged) during trials is seen by how these gems shine. Are we more patient? Are we more considerate of others? Every choice we make, every response to hardship measures our transformation into Christ-likeness. This is the Father’s goal.

How far do you “consider” you are from being like Jesus? The closer we get, the more we rejoice when facing yet another trial. This was James’ point.

Take Home Nugget

None of us want to struggle through pain, but it’s unavoidable in today’s fallen world. Why not respond to trials with an eternal point–of –view? Why waste your struggle? When we cooperate with the Holy Spirit (instead of refusing to grow) our character gems will be polished into a brilliant sparkling shine—noticeable by all.

J.D. Griffith

You’ve given us Your Spirit Lord,

To help us grow, mature, and learn.

Teach us from Your written Word,

So truth from error we’ll discern.

Sper


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