Never Give Up~

James 1:2-4

² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance...

Greetings~

The reason God asks us to consider it pure joy when faced with trials is that the testing of our faith produces perseverance. Maybe that doesn't sound like a good enough reason to consider our hardships an opportunity for joy. On the surface these verses might even seem harsh because we face trials of many kinds, and our faith is tested.

But let's not let these trials to go to waste. Let's let the testing of our faith produce something awesome and wonderful--PERSEVERANCE!

Can any of us really succeed at anything if we don't persevere?

P-E-R-S-E-V-E-R-E, as defined by our friends at dictionary.com means to persist in anything undertaken; maintain a purpose in spite of difficulty, obstacles, or discouragement; continue steadfastly. All this reminds me of a friend who had some struggles with her child.

When the problem first surfaced, he was in middle school. At first, his parents were in denial and then they panicked at his behavior. One day, about three months into their ordeal, they realized they were in for the fight of their life and they hunkered down. Every day started with their reminding their son that they loved him, that they would never disown him, followed by their going off to pray desperate prayers. It might be easier to pray if the answers come quickly, but more often than not, we must dig in our heels and decide that we aren't going anywhere until we get the answer. Asking God once or twice is hardly perseverance. Asking Him day in day out for a couple of years is a better definition.

I do not know why some answers take a longer time than others. But I have discovered that focusing on the "whys" of life is distracting and debilitating. It is much better to focus on the "Who" in charge.

Nevertheless, these parents persisted in loving their child and in spite of tremendous difficulty, obstacles, and discouragement, they maintained their purpose, which was to pray their child out of his wrong behavior. They never gave up. Some days were better than others, and some days all my friend could do was lay hold of one particular promise of God and repeat it over and over again until she fell asleep:

Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Well, she never gave up, and has been reaping that harvest for several years now. Her child is on track and a phenomenal young man! The most amazing thing is the attitude shift that took place.

In her own words...

"Yenise, Some days I was so mentally and physically exhausted that I thought I would never recover. But a few months into our season of struggle, I noticed that God was really encouraging me with gems of truth from His word. His words became so real to me, and though some might never believe it, I can honestly say I found myself having joy. Joy that God was in control. That He had enough power to fix things, and a desire to do so. That ultimately, nothing or no one--including my rebellious son--was a match for God's love. Once I decided that I would not give up no matter what was when the joy really took root..."

What an inspiration! I hope this will encourage us all to look at our trials differently.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, It makes no sense to ask someone to consider their struggles as an opportunity to have joy, but considering our options, we choose joy. Your verse tells us it is possible. We accept it as truth and call on You for Your help. In Jesus' name, AMEN~