Look on the BRIGHT side :)

Hey everybody! I hope everyone is having a great week. I know many of you are doing finals and projects and trying to get everything done! I want to say I am praying for you and know that this season of life is temporary so work hard!

It has taken me two weeks to finally figure out what the Lord wanted me to talk about. If I can be completely honest this has been a trying week. Have you ever had a day or week when everything in the world seemed to be going wrong and then it kept getting worse? Well let me tell you, there were a lot of things I was allowing to take my smile away. As horrible as this week was beginning to become, I am so thankful that God puts people in our lives that uplift us when we can’t see the sun shining in our situation.

One of my good friends sent me the following verse that put a lot of things in perspective for me.”Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So DON’T TRY to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.” James 1:2-4 MSG

When I read this verse, I started to break down what James was trying to convey to us. So using this passage of scripture, I am going to share some practical ways to exercise your faith when life seems to come at you at a million miles an hour. I honestly believe if I didn’t go through what I am experiencing now I wouldn’t be able to tell any of you us.

The first sentence of verse two says that we should consider tests and challenges as a SHEER GIFT! Now who do you know loves to get tested or even considers it a gift??? I’ll wait…

*Crickets*

Ha! not ME! I would rather get a good grade then take the test. As I asked the Lord what He was trying to say, I agreed with James that we should consider tests and trials as gift because this produces in us endurance so we can grow in our faith. I’ve learned just in the past week that growth hurts and that’s why they call it growing pains. It is not supposed to feel good because you are going against what your flesh would rather do. So when problems arise, remember this is a perfect opportunity to change your perspective and consider your dilemma as a gift.

Secondly, when James says that we should not get out of anything prematurely, I wanted to bandage my heart because it broke when I read that. You have no idea how many times I’ve tried to get out of a test. I wanted to avoid it, run, hide, and act like it didn’t exist.

Have you ever broken a bone or tore a ligament? Well, I have. Rehab has to be the most painful thing in the world. Not only has the ligament been repaired but it’s become weak. It will take strength and conditioning in order to function properly. If we don’t go through rehab or in this case take the test, we will not gain strength in an area we are weak in. We must study, internalize the material, and take the test so we will pass. If not, we will find ourselves not ready for the next test or we will have to repeat that problem in the comprehensive exam! James tells us not to get out of this problem prematurely because there are things in that test that we need to strengthen our faith in Jesus.

Now that you have considered the trial a gift and chosen not to run away, verse four tells us to allow the tests and challenges to do its work in us so we can become mature and well-developed.

For instance, have you eaten some under cooked meat? It has to be the nastiest thing this side of earth! You want that meat to be cooked all the way through and that process is not easy but the outcome is priceless. As we go through this life, things will come up against us and as painful as it is to say, we have to go through it. We can’t ignore the growing process if we want to get where the Lord wants us to be.

We have to be able to identify the problem and say, “Ok God, I know that I am dealing with these things because you are trying to mature me and grow me in ways I may not realize right now, so Thank You!”

The only way our faith will mature is if it is tested! I have learned I can talk about how good God is when things are going well, but is my confession the same when things are not going the way I expected?  Do I break down the first sign of adversity or do I stay calm because I know I am not in it alone?

God will never cease to be Himself in the highs and lows of this life. Psalms 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” I didn’t know He was my strength until I got into trouble. I didn’t know He could heal my heart until it got broken. I didn’t know He could be everything to me until I was lonely. I can’t shy away from adversity just because it hurts, if I know who I serve then I know He won’t leave me out here looking crazy!

This is what I’ve started to do when the sun feels like it is not shining in my life. I keep reading the Word and choose to stop feeling sorry for myself. If I sit long enough in how I feel, I will allow myself to run away from God and self-medicate myself. Keep reading and believing that what you are reading will change your perspective. Let worship become your weapon and sing songs that glorify Him. Worshipping the Lord takes the attention off of you and onto Him.  After you worship, it will be easier to pray because God can deal with you in your worship and then you will know what to pray for. Lastly, believe that what you prayed for is already done and don’t allow what you see or feel to change your confession.

I love you guys so much! I plead the blood of Jesus over you that you won’t quit like I felt like doing this week. I pray that you will mature in this season. I pray that you overcome so that others will too. Let’s trust Him.