Oh, Grow Up! August 1 /2013 Scripture reading: James 1:2-4 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." (James 1:2-4) The last thing you want to be known as is immature. You want others to see you as the mature person you consider yourself to be, right? Well, God’s tool for developing maturity may seem odd, but here it is: trials. You see, God uses the hard things in life to help your faith “grow up.” When your faith is tested, you have a choice: You can run from God and try to fix things in your own strength and in your own way; or you can keep on walking with God and doing the right things as you endure the trial. If you make the choice to persevere, then your faith grows, deepens, and matures. Now don’t misunderstand. James isn’t talking about the kind of maturity that means you can decide your own curfew, watch whatever you want, and dress like your favorite pop diva. Nope. This kind of maturity means you have a grown-up faith that’s complete. It means you’re ready to face the challenges of life because you know where to go for help. It means you can face whatever the future holds because you’ve learned to hold on to God in the past. Most of us go out of our way to avoid trials. But no matter how hard we try, they find us anyway. So when they do, stop trying to avoid them. Settle in and learn the lessons God wants to teach you. Be glad that you’re on the road to maturity, even though it’s hard. And remember that this maturity will carry you through both the trials of the present and the challenges of the future. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT TRIALS AND TEMPTATIONS, READ JAMES 1:2-16. ~ God, you know I’d always prefer to take the easy way out. I’m asking you to change my perspective so that I can rejoice even in the trials you bring my way. Help me to respond to hard things in such a way that my faith grows up…Amen! ~
Posted on: Thu, 01 Aug 2013 11:19:21 +0000
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