the book of James
Have begun a discussion on the Book of James last Sunday as a church family. The first section was a reminder about the trials we face and how we respond to them. Amongst other things that section of scripture encourages us to endure. The call is to “joyfully approach these trials, because they teach us to endure…which builds maturity in us.” But with joy…now that is hard. Yet have a look back a couple pages in your Bible from James to Hebrews 12:1-3 and see how Jesus chose to suffer. The same adjective…with joy. We talked about that a bit. Jesus loved to obey His Father, he knew the benefit for us. These aspects helped build the joy in the journey. So here is a question? Someone answer…do you think we can choose joy when we face trials as believers, and if so how? I await you the readers response?
I still find this perhaps the hardest challenge of my walk with Jesus. I tend to whinge and complain and try to hurry it up or wriggle out of it. Maybe the answer is in our expectations. If I really expected an eternal reward and eternal results, maybe it would be more joy.