Day Twenty-Five
DAY TWENTY-FIVE
Welcome to day 25 you chosen, righteous, child of God with a glorious future! Keep speaking that over yourself ‘without wavering’ the Bible says, and that means un-bending in the face of pressure or adverse circumstances.
Whatever you face today, know that trouble, hardship, testing, pressure, are all things, that if we are consenting and allow them to, can actually grow our faith!
James says it this way in chapter one verse two;
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.
This passage tells us that if we approach trouble and pressure the right way it’s an opportunity for GREAT JOY! Why on earth would he say that?? Because it produces in us patience and when we don’t run from trouble, but turn to God and trust Him in the middle of our trouble and pressure, we develop endurance that creates a maturity and completeness in us that the Bible goes on to say leads us to an inheritance of wholeness, and leaves us ‘wanting nothing.’
That in itself is worth embracing pressure, but James doesn’t stop there! He goes on to say “And oh, by the way, You don’t have to face that pressure and trouble by yourself, if you need wisdom to deal with what you are facing, just ask God and He’ll give it to you, liberally, generously and without judgment!!”
And then He goes on to say, make sure you ask in FAITH!
So let me put this all together, when your faith is tested, it should bring you great joy because it’s God giving you an opportunity to grow patience, which produces endurance, maturity, and wholeness. You can ask God for wisdom to help you stay the course and face what is in front of you and when you do, it takes your focus off the circumstances that are testing it, and focuses you right back on God who is able to GROW your faith, and when you do….. YOU PASS THE TEST that verse two is talking about!!
Go ahead embrace that test and know with God’s help and wisdom, you can pass with flying colors and in the process gain joy, patience, endurance, maturity, wholeness……and MORE FAITH.
Scripture to meditate on: James 1:2-8