HE will do What HE Says.
“Consider it all joy,
(The Letter of James 1: 2-4 NASB)
my brethren,
when you encounter various trials,
knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
And let endurance have its perfect result,
so that you may be perfect and complete,
lacking in nothing.”
We are busy individuals with lives filled with a variety of events, engagements, and obligations we feel inclined to attend. So, we fill our calendars with reminders to help us do what we ought to do, ensuring we will not forget. I cannot speak about yours (calendar), but mine is color coded.
- Purple—for work-related items.
- Green—for items related to my girls.
- Red—for birthdays & anniversaries.
- Yellow—for items I deem most important. &
- Blue—for the rest of my life-events that need remembering.
Some would call me organized because I color-code the events of my life, but I know the truth. Without the calendar & the variety of color, I would be most forgetful.
However, in thinking about the implication of what God is revealing through The Letter of James, I notice that on my cell phone calendar, no where do I list the trials, the tests of my faith, those times of my life when (as the Bible says) bring me JOY.
- I do not have a color for the testing of my faith—
- I do not have a color for when I pray and the Lord seems silent—
- I do not have a color for when the Lord leads me as I walk through the valley—
- I do not have a color for when my life suddenly seems upside down rather than right-side up as I think it should be—
- I do not have a color for when my health suddenly fails & I become overcome with worry—
- I do not have a color for when my loved ones who do not know Jesus resist Him—
- I do not have a color for when the Lord leads me to step out of my comfort place to do His will—
- I do not have a color for the various trials OR the tests of my faith that I am called to endure—
However, if I did, I believe the color of my various trials & tests from the Lord would be
BRIGHT YELLOW, for YELLOW is a color that depicts JOY!
As I mentioned earlier, on my phone calendar, the color of “yellow” is designated for the items I deem most important, the items I most wish to remember. Maybe you have just read that last sentence & wonder: Why would anyone wish to remember the trials of life, the times when the Lord tested our faith?
This is a great question, one that deserves the answer only God can give.
JOY UNSPEAKABLE!
HE will do What HE Says.
Notice the period at the end of that last statement, & a period always denotes the end, the completion of a thought, of a point, of a statement of declaration.
The Lord will do What HE Says HE will do.
Last week, I received an email, one instructing me to come by the gym to receive my new t-shirt. So, I made a point to walk over to the Powell Gym, to go to the athletic director’s office and retrieve my new FREE shirt. On the front of my new grey t-shirt is a slogan displaying what the faculty & staff are committed to do for our students as they persevere toward Graduation Day. Then, when I turned over the t-shirt to see the back, I saw this verse from The Book of James—
“And let endurance have its perfect result,
(The Letter of James 1: 4 NASB)
[endurance throughout the trials & testing of our faith]
so that you may be perfect and complete,
lacking in nothing.”
That new FREE t-shirt was gifted to me last week, and I have been asked to speak at the opening day for the faculty and staff. In my words, I found myself writing about the words found on my new FREE t-shirt.
This week, the Lord has allowed a trial, a testing of my faith to enter my life.
Talk about great timing.
The Letter of James is placed in The New Testament of the Bible, and the letter was written specifically to the children of God scattered abroad the known world of that day.
So, Why would anyone wish to remember the trials of life, the times when the Lord tested our faith?
Let us see the answer God provides—
“Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial;
(The Letter of James 1: 12 NASB)
for once he has been approved,
he will receive the crown of life
which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”
Take heart, child of the Most-High King of kings!
As we persevere, as we run the race, as we remain faithful to the trial, to the testing of our faith, to that which the Lord allows us to walk through, we will be approved. The Word of God says that when we come to the finish line of our earthly life, the redeemed ones “will receive the crown of life [in heaven] which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”
In closing, it is necessary for us be reminded what God tells us within The Old Testament of His Holy Word—
“God is not a man, that He should lie,
(Numbers 23: 19 NASB)
Nor a son of man, that He should repent;
Has He said, and will He not do it?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”
The Lord will do What HE Says HE will do—Period—No Question About It—Believe God!