I will be starting a new series of weekly devotionals. The focus in this series will be the trials of life. We will look at various Scriptures throughout the Bible that deal with going through struggles. Why do we have to go through them? Can I get through them? What purpose do they serve in my life? The Bible answers these questions and many more about the struggles and trials we all experience.
Suffering, trouble, struggles, trials, and hard times are as much a part of the Christian life as joy and blessing. By necessity we must learn how to approach and deal with these hard times. As My pastor often says, “The forecast is... trouble today and trouble tomorrow.” Or as I heard an old preacher once say, “The Christian life is all about hard times. We’re either coming out of hard times, in the middle of hard times, or heading into hard times.”
I hope and pray that you will be blessed by reading these short devotionals about the hard times we go through as Christians. My goal is to make this a weekly writing but as we all know….Life happens. Struggles come. And things don’t always work out just like we want them to.
May God bless us all!
Wally Long
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Trials of Life - James 1:2
James 1:2-4 (ESV) "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds..."
When James writes this letter to Jewish Christians, there are suffering under great persecution from both the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem and from the Roman government. They have been “scattered abroad” due to the persecution. Therefore, it is no surprise that he starts his letter with encouraging words about going through “trials of various kinds”. In James 1:2-4, James gives us a few reasons why we go through these trials and what we are to gain from them.
Right out of the gate he says “Count it all joy….”. The word “count” is of interest. The first five times it is used in the NT it is translated as “governor or chief”. The literal meaning is “to lead, to rule, to command or go before”. This idea gives the phrase “count it all joy”, a little stronger tone. We are not just to think or reckon a situation to be one of joy. We are not just to let the situation decide for us if we should be in joy or sadness. We are to lead our mind and heart to joy. We are to have command over the joy we experience in a given trial or hard test.
Another word that needs a little discussion is “meet” trials. The KJV translates the word as “fall into”. This is a more accurate translation. It is a rare word used only three times in the NT. Each time the idea behind the word is for something to come upon you unexpectedly and when you fall into it (thieves in Luke 10:30, swirling waves in Acts 27:41 and various trial here in James 1:2), you are very much surrounded and engulfed by the thing you fell into.
So the first thing James wants us to learn is to command joy from our hearts even in the middle of a trial so unexpected and so all-encompassing that we are very much overwhelmed. We are to lead our attitude to be one of joy and victory, not one of sadness and defeat. I know this is not easy. Our normal tendency when face with a difficult trial is to slip into despair. The pain is great and it doesn’t let up. Where is the joy in ……. ……(name the trial you are going through)? It is tough to find joy in these very difficult trials of life. Maybe that is why God leads us into so many struggles and hard times. Maybe He is giving us “commanding and ruling practice” over our own hearts.
One last thought… Learning to “command” joy from our hearts does not make the pain go away. It will not miraculously make everything better. And it may take a lot of governing before our hearts will listen to us. It also does not mean that we are less than a “spiritual” Christian when we don’t lift our voices at the outset of falling into a trial and say “Praise God! I get to suffer and go through this pain!! Yeah!”. We are to learn to command and rule our heart with joy. We are to learn to “choose” joy.
When we are surrounded by the “trials of life” we have fallen into let us always remember that His hands are bigger than the trials and we are always in His faithful, all-mighty hands. The next time you are tested, try “commanding or choosing” joy. Test God and see if He will be faithful to give you peace and joy in the midst of your trial. I am absolutely confident that He can and He will. Choose Joy!!!
When James writes this letter to Jewish Christians, there are suffering under great persecution from both the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem and from the Roman government. They have been “scattered abroad” due to the persecution. Therefore, it is no surprise that he starts his letter with encouraging words about going through “trials of various kinds”. In James 1:2-4, James gives us a few reasons why we go through these trials and what we are to gain from them.
Right out of the gate he says “Count it all joy….”. The word “count” is of interest. The first five times it is used in the NT it is translated as “governor or chief”. The literal meaning is “to lead, to rule, to command or go before”. This idea gives the phrase “count it all joy”, a little stronger tone. We are not just to think or reckon a situation to be one of joy. We are not just to let the situation decide for us if we should be in joy or sadness. We are to lead our mind and heart to joy. We are to have command over the joy we experience in a given trial or hard test.
Another word that needs a little discussion is “meet” trials. The KJV translates the word as “fall into”. This is a more accurate translation. It is a rare word used only three times in the NT. Each time the idea behind the word is for something to come upon you unexpectedly and when you fall into it (thieves in Luke 10:30, swirling waves in Acts 27:41 and various trial here in James 1:2), you are very much surrounded and engulfed by the thing you fell into.
So the first thing James wants us to learn is to command joy from our hearts even in the middle of a trial so unexpected and so all-encompassing that we are very much overwhelmed. We are to lead our attitude to be one of joy and victory, not one of sadness and defeat. I know this is not easy. Our normal tendency when face with a difficult trial is to slip into despair. The pain is great and it doesn’t let up. Where is the joy in ……. ……(name the trial you are going through)? It is tough to find joy in these very difficult trials of life. Maybe that is why God leads us into so many struggles and hard times. Maybe He is giving us “commanding and ruling practice” over our own hearts.
One last thought… Learning to “command” joy from our hearts does not make the pain go away. It will not miraculously make everything better. And it may take a lot of governing before our hearts will listen to us. It also does not mean that we are less than a “spiritual” Christian when we don’t lift our voices at the outset of falling into a trial and say “Praise God! I get to suffer and go through this pain!! Yeah!”. We are to learn to command and rule our heart with joy. We are to learn to “choose” joy.
When we are surrounded by the “trials of life” we have fallen into let us always remember that His hands are bigger than the trials and we are always in His faithful, all-mighty hands. The next time you are tested, try “commanding or choosing” joy. Test God and see if He will be faithful to give you peace and joy in the midst of your trial. I am absolutely confident that He can and He will. Choose Joy!!!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Proverbs Chapter 31
Proverbs 31:8-9 (ESV) "Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy."
I recently heard a speech given by a biker representing Bikers Against Child Abuse (BACA). Here was this burly biker type who was obviously very emotional and passionate about the cause for which he was involved. He told stories about children he had come into contact with through BACA. Most of these children came from broken homes and were abused in one way or another. The stories he told were heartbreaking. He explained how he and his associates in BACA stood up for and cared for these helpless children. He also told us how in the process of caring for them, they touched his heart as nothing else ever did.
He may not have known it but he was a living example of the truth and exhortation in Proverbs 31:8,9. He opened his mouth for those who had no voice. He stood up for the rights of the downtrodden and destitute. He defended the rights of the poor and needy. I don’t know if he was a Christian or not but from the content of his speech I suspect he was. I do know that he lived this verse in the way that should be indicative of our churches.
It seems to me that we in the modern evangelical church ought to be about God’s business in all of it’s facets. We like to preach the Gospel, as we should be doing. We like to disciple our new believers, as is our duty. We teach and preach and sing and worship in our Sunday services. It is good and right that we do so. While we are doing these necessary and Godly things we must not forget that there are people in our communities who will not be reached unless we reach down to them, stand up for them and speak up for them. It may not be easy but then standing for what is true and right is seldom easy.
We don’t all need to join BACA or any of the numerous civic organizations in our country who serve the poor and needy. However, if we are to live the whole Gospel we ought to seek out ways to live the truth of today’s verse. It may be lending a helping hand to an elderly neighbor. It may be that we give of our resources to help feed someone who is hungry. Whatever the case may be, we should seek to do something for those who can’t do for themselves.
God help us to speak up and stand up for the weak. Show us how to defend those who cannot defend themselves. Point us to those who are physically, emotionally and spiritually needy. Help us to show Your love to those around us who so desperately need to feel loved. Amen!
I recently heard a speech given by a biker representing Bikers Against Child Abuse (BACA). Here was this burly biker type who was obviously very emotional and passionate about the cause for which he was involved. He told stories about children he had come into contact with through BACA. Most of these children came from broken homes and were abused in one way or another. The stories he told were heartbreaking. He explained how he and his associates in BACA stood up for and cared for these helpless children. He also told us how in the process of caring for them, they touched his heart as nothing else ever did.
He may not have known it but he was a living example of the truth and exhortation in Proverbs 31:8,9. He opened his mouth for those who had no voice. He stood up for the rights of the downtrodden and destitute. He defended the rights of the poor and needy. I don’t know if he was a Christian or not but from the content of his speech I suspect he was. I do know that he lived this verse in the way that should be indicative of our churches.
It seems to me that we in the modern evangelical church ought to be about God’s business in all of it’s facets. We like to preach the Gospel, as we should be doing. We like to disciple our new believers, as is our duty. We teach and preach and sing and worship in our Sunday services. It is good and right that we do so. While we are doing these necessary and Godly things we must not forget that there are people in our communities who will not be reached unless we reach down to them, stand up for them and speak up for them. It may not be easy but then standing for what is true and right is seldom easy.
We don’t all need to join BACA or any of the numerous civic organizations in our country who serve the poor and needy. However, if we are to live the whole Gospel we ought to seek out ways to live the truth of today’s verse. It may be lending a helping hand to an elderly neighbor. It may be that we give of our resources to help feed someone who is hungry. Whatever the case may be, we should seek to do something for those who can’t do for themselves.
God help us to speak up and stand up for the weak. Show us how to defend those who cannot defend themselves. Point us to those who are physically, emotionally and spiritually needy. Help us to show Your love to those around us who so desperately need to feel loved. Amen!
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