Soul Devotional - March 26, 2015

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. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

In the Christian walk I think these might be some of the hardest verses to follow. They are completely counter intuitive to how our minds work. But it is truth. We need to realize the big picture in life. Jesus has started a good work in us. Not an easy work but a work that will make us "mature and complete, not lacking anything." What a reward we have when we allow Jesus to work on us. And all we need to start is faith. When we have faith that Jesus is in control, it allows us to have joy in the trials. When we know that our Saviour is in control it gives our faith a base. Faith leads to perseverance. Perseverance is the commitment to seeing things through (with joy). Joy is the key though. With out joy perseverance is stubbornness. 

I challenge you this week to see every trial as an opportunity for your faith to lead to perseverance that will make you a more whole Christian.

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Trevor Neufeld
Children's Pastor | Living Word Temple
trevor@soulsanctuary.ca