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!
BE BLESSED!!!
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