James 1:12
Every man faces temptations; however, the one that is blessed is the one that endures them and doesn’t give in… I was once told that the saddest thing about someone quitting a project or process is that they never realize how close they were to completing it and the same can be said of our Christian journey… The temptations we face appear to be the easy way out, but the reality is that you are so close to the blessings of God if you just hold on a little while longer… The things that catch your eye in this life will never satisfy the vision that God has placed inside of you… The difference between being blessed and not lies in the sacrifice and obedience that one has within… Daily, we all face decisions; however, the question that we have to have at the heart of our decisions is to whom are we trying to please… You can only endure temptations if you have a hearts desire to please the Lord… Make no mistake about it, the story of your life is unique to you, but the challenges that you faced in getting to where you are now is quite similar to everyone on this journey… We all have been and will be tested; this is why James says “for when he is tried…” he doesn’t say if, but when; you can rest assured that in seeking to live according to the will of God that Satan will try you…
He will try to paint a picture of gloom and doom and lead you down a path of destruction that will end with you throwing in the towel… See often times we try to paint a image of Christianity without temptations or snares and this is why so many people can’t endure the rough terrain of this journey… I don’t’ know what your bible tells you, but the word of God that I read tells me that we will be persecuted, we will suffer and that we will endure hardships… We must stop relying on our own ability and start to allow God to move on our behalf… It doesn’t matter how strong you are, it doesn’t matter how tough you might appear to be, you cannot defeat this enemy on your own and this is why you are not called to overcome but to endure… To endure means that you bear, tolerate or undergo; you must bear the storms in your life, you must tolerate the words of your adversary and undergo the battles of the opposition… Notice that in this enduring you are not called to fight back or engage… A lot of times we misunderstand endurance and confuse it with perseverance… You are not called to stand against the enemy, you are called to speak Christ and let the Lord fight your battles… This is why Isaiah tells us that we can only walk in run in Christ… “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Notice that when we grow tired in life, when we stumble in fall we must put our hope in the Lord to have our strength renewed… I recite this passage because a lot of times we say that people are falling by the wayside because they have lost their battle when in reality they have fallen because they are fighting a battle that is not theirs to fight…
You get weary from toiling, from laboring and when you do this on your own you are assured to fall… This same principle can be applied to our very lives; we seek success by our hands and so we fall into the temptations of pleasing men and not God… In your endurance you are assured success as James tells us that when you endure and don’t give in “he shall receive the crown of life…” When you labor in the Lord you will bear fruit for life; when you labor in the world you bear fruit for the moment… The fruit of life takes longer to bear because it last beyond the moment; I say this to challenge you to seek the longer lasting fruit of life instead of the tempting fruit of the moment… The things we endure on this earth in the name of our Lord are guaranteed to produce lasting fruit in our lives as we are told in the concluding words of this verse that God will bring them to past because “the Lord hath promised to them that love him…” James calls us in today’s focus verse to make sure that our priorities align with the will of God… This is a daunting task to undertake as we all seek to achieve success and be accepted within our peer’s circles… On this journey we will be tried, we will be tested, and we will experience adversity. People will talk about us, people will turn there backs on us, and people will try and discourage our walk. The devil will continue to press us, the devil will continue to try and push us over the age, and the devil will try to destroy our faith. However, it is very sweet to know that Jesus sits high and looks low; Jesus hears our every cry, and Jesus is waiting for us to complete this journey so that he can crack the sky and say well done thy good and faithful servant. So just hold on, be strong and of good courage, we have to be tested, but there is a tremendous reward if we continue to pass the test!
ALL FOR HIS GLORY!
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