Saturday, March 21, 2015

Unwelcome Visitors

James 1:2-12 AMP

2 Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations.
3 Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience.
4 But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing.
5 If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of [a]the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him.
6 Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting). For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the billowing surge out at sea that is blown hither and thither and tossed by the wind.
7 For truly, let not such a person imagine that he will receive anything [he asks for] from the Lord,
8 [For being as he is] a man of two minds (hesitating, dubious, irresolute), [he is] unstable and unreliable and uncertain about everything [he thinks, feels, decides].
9 Let the brother in humble circumstances glory in his elevation [as a Christian, called to the true riches and to be an heir of God],
10 And the rich [person ought to glory] in being humbled [by being shown his human frailty], because like the flower of the grass he will pass away.
11 For the sun comes up with a scorching heat and parches the grass; its flower falls off and its beauty fades away. Even so will the rich man wither and die in the midst of his pursuits.
12 Blessed (happy, [b]to be envied) is the man who is patient under trial and stands up under temptation, for when he has stood the test and been approved, he will receive [the victor’s] crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him.


Unwelcome Visitors (Our Daily Bread, March 17, 2015)

Recently my wife, Marlene, and I received a panicky phone call from our son and his wife. The night before, they had found two bats in their house. I know bats are an important part of the ecosystem, but they are not my favorite among God’s creatures, especially when they are flying around inside.
Yet Marlene and I were thankful we could go over to our kids’ house and help. We helped them to plug the holes that might have been used by these unwelcome visitors to enter their house.
Another unwelcome visitor that often intrudes into our lives is suffering. When trials come, we can easily panic or lose heart. But these difficult circumstances can become the instruments our loving heavenly Father uses to make us more like Christ. That’s why James wrote, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work” (James 1:2-4).
We are not expected to enjoy trials or to celebrate suffering. But when these unwelcome visitors arrive, we can look for God’s hand in them and trust that He can use them to make us more like His Son.
Thank You, Father, that You give to us each day what You know is best. We’re thankful that we can trust Your heart, which is kind beyond all measure.
Trials may visit us, but our God is always with us.

Commentary:

Trials are never welcomed or sought after, but yet it is often a blessing in disguise.  This is so because trials teach us patience and perseverance.  It causes us to wait on God and to seek him.  Trials are used to draw us nearer to God.  So though it is not a very pleasant thing to endure, its after effects are beneficial.  Trials also keep us humble.  When all is well and carefree, one can become prideful and arrogant.  But when one goes through hard times, he will need to take time out to ponder on the situation, seek God’s word for wisdom and thereby grow in his walk with Christ.  Trials, like dental work, is never pleasant, but after it is over, we are always thankful for the results.   The only time that trials are bad for us is when we refuse to learn from them, but instead allow them to crush us.... by letting trials discourage us or make us negative.   May we use the trials in our lives to make us better and not let them break us.  (Miyagi)

James doesn’t say IF we face trials, but WHEN we face them.  He is saying that we will have trials and it is possible to profit from them.  We are not required to pretend to be happy when we face pain, but to have a positive outlook because of the results trials will bring.  James tells us to turn our hardships into times of learning.  Rough times can teach us patience. (Life application Bible)

We cannot really know the depth of our character until we see how we react under pressure. It is easy to be kind to others when all is going well, but can we still be kind when others are treating us unfairly?  God wants to make us mature and complete, not to keep us from all pain.  Instead of complaining about our struggles, we should see them as opportunity for growth.  Thank God for promising to be with you in tough times.  Ask him to help you solve your problems or give you the strength to endure them.  Then be patient.  God will not leave you alone with your problems.  He will stay close and help you grow.  (Life application Bible)  

What is the crown of life?  
The crown of life is eternal life, godly wisdom to live on earth and supernatural strength to endure tough times, so that we can witness and testify of the glory of God in our lives. (Miyagi)

In every situation that we face, if we ask God to help us to persevere, our faith will grow.  If we run from our trials and refuse to face them, we will never grow and the trials we are facing will end up crushing us.  The benefits of trials are patience, perseverance, humility and wisdom.   If we don’t go through them and learn from them, we will never reap the benefits.  (Miyagi)

In conclusion, welcome your trials because they are here to help.


Work Cited


Life application study bible, Wheaton: Tyndall house publishers. . 2004   
The King James study Bible, Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1988

“Unwelcome Visitors.”  Our Daily Bread.  RBC ministries, 2015

Miyagi’s commentary, The Body of Christ Jesus Fellowship, Makaha, HI USA  

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