Key Verses:
“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)
James 1:2-4 gives us a blueprint to handle our struggles and tough times. It tells us the attitude we should have and how that attitude helps us grow in our faith.
THE BLUEPRINT
As a competitive high school baseball and softball coach, it is unrealistic to think that everything will always be great. Some of my toughest seasons have been State Championship seasons, some of my easiest seasons – ones where we did not win a title.
It is a tough job . . . winning: twenty or so different player personalities, usually double the parent personalities, playing time, strategy, skill development, building the entire program (not just the Varsity), opponents, umpires, fans, budgets, fields, and the list goes on and on. AND I LOVE IT !!!
But man, do things go wrong sometimes !!! “Sometimes” is usually a daily thing. And some lessons are harder than others. Sometimes I feel completely broken.
It wasn’t until Spring of 2007 when I really began my personal Journey with Christ. Going through one of the tougher trials of my career, I began to read the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Coaches Bible that my wife, Cristy, had given me for my birthday (oddly enough the gift occurred just before the “trial” began). I was thumbing through the back of the book looking at the daily devotions. Because this is a coach’s Bible, a lot of it pertains to how to deal with failures and trials.
That’s when I found the verse James 1:2-4. I read it, and my outlook on the trial I was going through began to diminish. I finally started to “get it.” I was put here, in the exact place I am now, and in the exact circumstance I am in now . . . by God. He wants me here, going through what I am going through and doing what He would have me do (even typing these words at this very moment).
And regardless of how good the circumstance or how bad, God is in control of it all. I like to combine James 1:2-4 with Jeremiah 29:11 (“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”). So when the trials come, I try to look to these two verses immediately (James 1:2-4 and Jeremiah 29:11). And when “tough times” has to equal “pure joy” (because He says that’s the way it should be), then when I ask “Why me?” I have the answer: Because He has “plans to prosper” me. Because He knows my “future” and wants me to “persevere,” so that I can “mature” in Him.
It is so comforting to know that in the worst of times, He has given us a blueprint for how to handle it all.
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