Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
Whether you're typically a patient person or not, what are some times that you are the most patient? Usually it's when you don't have a lot of responsibility in a situation, and the outcome of whatever's going on really doesn't matter. The first thought I have that I think of is sitting on the beach somewhere. I can be really patient if I'm sitting on the beach somewhere.
Then you insert life and bills, finances, family, health. You add it all up and then the patience isn't necessarily there. Our Verse of the Day today is significant for life application and just the reality of what we deal with when it comes to life struggles.
It's James chapter 1, verse 12. It says, "God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him."
Patiently Endure
Now, if you notice—I love this about our verse—it doesn't say God blesses those who love to go through testing and trial. I love this, that it says "patiently endure" because it doesn't say, "You need to love it," because we don't love it, do we? I certainly don't. In fact, that's why this verse, when it comes to the practicality of it, when it comes to testing and temptation and trials, I find myself looking for the nearest exit. Are you with me? It's, get me out of here. I'm done with this. I don't want this trial. Let's just bring this to a close.
I love this Scripture because it doesn't say that you have to love it. Catch this though, because the ending, when it talks about that afterwards, they—the person that endured patiently through testing and temptation—will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him. If you patiently endure trial and temptation, and those people receive the crown of life, but the crown of life is given to those who love Him, then it goes to show that those that endure patiently temptation and trial are those that love Him.
What Does Love Have to Do with It?
Let's unpack that a little bit. When we're struggling with—God's continually teaching me—when testing and trial and temptation comes along, get me out of here. Fastest way out. But if we're able to patiently endure it, what if we actually shifted our thought process from the trial and temptation and the struggle to actually, wait a second, what is love? Please don't start singing the song, "What's Love Got to Do With It?" I know the song is now going in my head too.
But what does love have to do with that? Our love for God. What if it doesn't have as much to do with the trial and temptation and the struggle as much as it does our love for God? That actually it's His love for us and allowing us to go through trial and temptation.
Spiritual Muscles Need Resistance
Let's unpack this a little bit more on the physical side. Now, when we physically experience resistance to our muscles—did you know that if your muscles don't experience resistance, you start having some significant health issues over time? I'm not trying to be a personal trainer or a doctor or get into the medical side, but I've watched people who, in their retirement, just sit in a chair or something else where they don't allow their muscles to experience resistance, and they start having balance issues, memory issues, fatigue—it actually can affect their cardiovascular health. There's so many different things. Again, this is not a time to focus on the physical side as much as it is: if somebody were to tell you, hey, you know what, you really need to get up and exercise and give your muscles some resistance, it would not be because they didn't care about you. It would be out of love.
Wait a second, why is it that we may understand that for the physical side, but spiritually, as soon as we go through trial and temptation and struggles, it's like, whoa, get me out of here. I want to get to the comfortable place. I thought the Christian life was more, let's coast, let's be comfortable. Let's be happy and joyful and everything's great. Well, but are we really exercising our spiritual muscles to actually have that resistance through trial and temptation to actually be stronger?
God Is Preparing You
God's calling us to something greater than just being comfortable. When we get out of our comfort zone, and we exercise, when we see those trials and temptations that we're coming against and we patiently endure them, we're starting to feel our spiritual muscles be exercised. Is this painful? Yes. But God has something so much greater in store for you, and He's preparing you for something greater that He can do in and through you.
I would encourage you, whatever trial and temptation you're going through today, don't just try to patiently endure it. Take a step back and say, what does my love for God have to do with being able to patiently endure what I'm going through? What if He is trying to exercise my spiritual muscles for me to be stronger for something He's preparing me for? To do something great for Him?
I would just encourage you to take some time. Be okay. Patiently endure the exercising of your spiritual muscles to have faith, to trust that God's doing something through this temptation and trial that you're going through today. Let's celebrate what He's doing in and through you.
