>
“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
I absolutely love the book of James. He writes with such a passion and conviction that I can only imagine is magnified when read in the Greek. Pastor Rick included this verse in his sermon yesterday entitled Attributes.
Let’s do a quick word study, since Elizabeth is fascinated by the real meanings and translations of these words into the Greek. (My Hebrew/Greek Key Word Study Bible [NASB] was one of the best investments I’ve ever made.)
pure, or all (G3956) – each, every, any, all, the whole, everyone, all things, everything
testing (G1383) – the proving
perseverance (G5281) – steadfastness, constancy, endurance; a patient enduring, sustaining, perseverance
mature (G5046) – brought to its end, finished; perfect, complete
In order to reach maturity in our walks with Christ, we have to endure trials.. it’s not an option. We will be thankful for them in the end, for whatever doesn’t kill us has to make us stronger, right?
Anyway, I had to include a little blurb on this verse because it’s been racing through my mind in the past 24 hours or so.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank You, Lord, for Your goodness, for Your mercy, for your abounding love. I come to You in absolute thanks of what You have done in my life. You have protected me and raised me up with Your right hand, all in love and all for love. You desire me to live a satisfying and joyful life, and for me to walk with You all my days. Now that I’ve been through many trials, with many still to come, I can attest to Your great love and patience that dwells in me.
Thank You for my husband, for our marriage. Thank You for your grace and mercy and your forgiveness for our sin. You have restored and redeemed us. By the world’s standards, we would have gone our separate ways long before now. Because of the adversity we’ve walked through together, I know that You have something amazing for us… some plan that we could never have dreamed up ourselves. You are preparing and molding us for the future, whatever it is, and I know You go before us.
I want to take life day by day, drinking in all that is before me in my job, my relationships, in nature. Thank You for health, for these legs that run farther and farther, and this heart that pumps so strongly. Running has made me see just how amazing our bodies are, and how You are the great scientist and engineer of all we see. Thank You for the feeling of being so alive.
Thank You for my job. You literally placed it in my lap and I can’t describe how satisfied I am in helping this particular student. Thank You for your gift of teaching that You’ve given me.. looking back I knew my calling a very long time ago, even as young as seven or eight. You are a good God, who fulfills and satisfies and restores.
Thank You for Your promises for future generations that come from Aaron and me. We have both overcome difficulty and generational issues and we know that our children and their children and even up to one thousand generations will be blessed because of our obedience!
Thank You for all these things and so much more.
I love You, Jesus.
Amen.
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related
Published by Elizabeth W
Eating, exploring, reading, running, traveling, yoga, in alphabetical order of course.
View all posts by Elizabeth W
mercies per mile 