James Chapter 1
Greeting
1 James, a •slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ:To the 12 tribes in the Dispersion.
Greetings. Trials and Maturity
2 Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.
Difficult times are going to come about. Sometimes it may be with you and mom or I or with your brother and sisters. Sometimes it may be at school, work or with athletics or something else. The point is this, you will not guide your way through life smoothly.
The question is, what do you do in difficult times. James (the brother of Jesus) tells us that we should consider it joy when those times occur. The reason is because God is trying to teach us something and better us. Our immediate response seems to be to answer difficulties with frustration, blame and anger. I want to encourage you to instead, respond by thanking God for an opportunity to learn something about yourself, someone else or Him. Then seek the purpose behind your difficult circumstance by seeking the Lord.
There are two ways to respond to difficult times/situations. One way destroys our relationships and reputation and the other builds our Godly character. I pray that you seek the later of the two.
Excellent advice ... counting to ten may help me remember this advice in the heat of the moment! That must be where the slow to anger, slow to speak and quick to forgive part comes in!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post!
Good point, Steve! Stopping to gather our thoughts before taking action is always a good idea.
ReplyDelete