Sunday, April 18, 2021

Romans 5:3-5 and James 1:2 (not 3).. wait, what?

Romans 

3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 

4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 

5And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

JamesConsider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
Wait.. not verse 3, only verse 2. 
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds.Wait.. what?
Consider it joy when you face trials. NOPE. READ IT AGAIN.
Consider it PURE joy.. PURE joy. Pure joy can only come from something that makes you ecstatic, creates of urgency of happiness and positive energy that can only be explained by the child inside. (my definition, not Webster)This is the kind of joy we are supposed to have. This is the king of JOY we are supposed to have. Joy.The of the movie Inside Out. Joy was smiling and cute and just exuded this spark that makes you want to be near her, because you want what she's got. 
This is how we are supposed to be. In the middle of trials. 
When you face trials of MANY kinds. What kind of trials? How many trials?All of them.MANY kinds. Let's think of the kinds of trials we go through. Losing our house, divorce, losing a job, house being wrecked by forces of nature, car accident, kid failing school, body starting to fall apart, can't afford groceries, taking college classes, burning the midnight oil.. you name a few! There are SO MANY different kinds of trials. 
And we are supposed to consider these experiences pure joy. End of discussion. We are children of God. We know, as followers of Christ, that we are supposed to, going to, you cannot call yourself a Christian unless, you go through trials. It comes with the territory. The world does not like us. But they need us.. because they need Him.. and we have the answer. 
So consider it pure joy, brothers and sisters, when you go through every single trial in your life.They give you the opportunity to test your faith and develop yourself as a person, fully trusting in God, and leaning on His promises. Telling Him you believe in the promises He made. We have God's Holy Spirit inside of us, guiding us and speaking to us on His behalf. We learn to keep going, keeping the faith, no matter what is thrown our way.

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