Tough Times

By Greg Primm

I’ve been reading through the book of James lately.  It’s short — just 5 chapters — and only takes about 20-30 minutes to read through.  I’ve read it before, but for some reason I’m really in tune with the theme of the book lately.  It seems everywhere I look, I’m seeing the themes of the book play out in my life.

It’s kind of like when you buy a new car, thinking you don’t see many of that make and model on the road.  Suddenly after buying the car, you start noticing every similar car on the road.  After a while, it seems everyone is driving your car.

The themes covered in the book could be considered a handbook for living the Christian life.  I’m going to highlight a few of them in this and future posts.  I highly recommend that you take half an hour and read through the book.

Tough times

Assuming we don’t give up, the tough times we go through only serve to prepare us for future success.  Sounds cliche, huh?  Maybe a bit, but the words in James serve to reassure us that God sees our troubles and takes notice.

Have you ever gone through a tough time where you felt alone, thinking no one was taking notice?  I’ve been through many of those times myself and often, all I really want is for someone to let me know they recognize what I’m going through.  Often, just a brief encouragement from a friend can serve as the catalyst to push you through the trouble.  Even when we don’t receive that encouragment from a friend, we can be assured that God knows what is happening and will reward our perseverance.

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. . . James 1:12 (NIV)

So what lessons can we learn from this passage?

1. You will go through tough times – even for those of us who believe in God, it’s inevitable that bad things will happen.
2. God recognizes what we’re going through.
3. We must persevere.  This one is key.  If we don’t persevere, if we don’t quit, if we don’t keep pushing toward the goals that God would have us pursue, then we won’t experience:
4. God will reward us — with money, new cars, and a big house, right?   Haha, don’t count on it!  When we allow God to change us, our priorities change and somehow the stuff of life just doesn’t mean anything.  James’ words only promise that God will give us the life He has promised us.  A life where God and his people are elevated above all else.

As you read through James’, begin to look for ways to make the teachings real in your life.  As I sit here writing these words, I’m in the middle of a project that is causing me all kinds of problems.  Frankly, I want to quit and forget about it.  I actually have the option of quitting, too.  It would be easy.

But after reading this passage I know that I can’t quit.  I’ve got to keep pushing through the issues until I work them out.  Only then will the reward come.  I know God sees my difficulties.  He cares.  But he wants to see me persevere.

He wants you to persevere as well.  My next post will continue to explore the ideas from the book of James’, namely a new way to view service.

Photo credit:  scol22