My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Jas 1:2

 

The novice my think that God is just wrong in this verse. How could one possibly find trouble / temptations joyful?

 

If you will read the rest of the passage it says, “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” Jas 1:3, 4

 

We need, nay, must trust God and continue to be joyful in spite of our sorrows. I find this difficult to observe, but if we will trust God and ask for wisdom, He will help us. [Look at vs 5]

 

We tend to think negatively first and most. We’ve got to remember that the righteous have never been forsaken or begging bread. [Ps 37:25]

 

And the LORD said unto him, Go, 1Ki 19:15

Elijah was down. He was being chased by that evil Jezebel for she wanted to have him dead. [vs2]

 

Elijah hid in a cave and was praying that he would die. [vs5] But God had a better idea. God always has better ideas. God told Elijah to “go”.

 

That’s what He wants for all of us. He wants us to go, get up and keep on keeping on. We can never do anything about the past, but we can ALWAYS do something about today.

 

As the old saying goes, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. God has spoken to us today. Just as He told Elijah to get busy, He’s told us the very same thing.

 

He’s told us what to do, serve him, work hard, act honorably, love, visit folks and to spread His word. [Among other things]

This brings me to another passage…….

5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. Ps 37:3-5

Sometimes we don’t know what to do when things fail to go our way. True, it is hard to know what to do next, but God has never left us without any instructions. When life gets difficult, when it seems like nothing is going your way, that’s a perfect time to check your alignment.

He said to “commit thy way unto the Lord”. This does not mean that we take our ideas and commit them, rather, it means we make sure our ideas are in alignment with His ideals, then commit yourself to the Lord. He added to “trust also in Him”.

So often we focus on how to get the things we want, overlooking the way to live.  Verse 3 said, “Trust in the Lord, and do good.” If we will just do this. I tell folks that don’t know what to do with their lives to just be the best you can be. For if you will focus on being the best you can be, doors of opportunity will open.

Unfortunately, we focus on (not)ty words. I can’t, they won’t, I’m not, are all words that have the wrong focus. It’s shameful, for it speaks against God your personal value. He loves you, so much that He gave His only begotten son. [John 3:16] He gave your abilities [Matthew 25:15], and He places you in a valued position in His church, when you obey the Gospel [Romans 12:6-8]. Let us respect God in our person, using our God given abilities to the best of our efforts.

By Spencer