Perseverance

 Good morning beautiful people!

Happy Saturday! I hope your day is filled with lots of good things and if you are going through a trial right now, I hope you can find one good thing to learn today. If nothing else, know that God is working something through you.  This Saturday finds my house getting ready to paint our family room. I am not a great painter, thank the Lord, that He sent me a man who is. Andrew may not love to paint but he makes things look so professionally done and I am always excited about what the end result is going to be. Bless his heart, I love how he goes along with my ideas, especially when he knows it means more work for him. This all started because before we had the roof replace, we had damage done to the ceiling and one wall in our family room. It was on my list for him to get that fixed and he did but then I realized, it had been 20 years since we had painted and I rag rolled the paint so I know if we just tried to paint the repair, we would always see it, so no better time than the present to pick a new color and do a refresh! Anyway, it's gonna be a long day but the payoff will be grand!

I just started my new Facebook page yesterday but I have been blogging on Saturday mornings on and off for years and I get a few people who remind me that it has been a while when I don't blog so I decided to keep the Bible Studies and the long posts here on my site. Please feel free to venture back through any of the other posts from over the year, hopefully you will find more encouragement.

Each year, for several years, I have picked a word to help guide me through the year. The last two years for me have been particularly magnified to me. Two years ago, I had made the decision to do the bariatric surgery after truly a lifetime of being overweight, I picked the word Transform. I not only wanted to transform my body, but also wanted to work on my walk with Jesus as well as my professional and personal life. I got a planner, and started becoming very intentional about each day and each week.

Last year, my word was Strong. I wanted to be stronger physically but also Spiritually and Professionally. We had some things happen in our lives last year that made me realize just how strong I can be if I just turn it over to God and let him do the heavy lifting for me. 2024 was a really tough year, and I spent a lot of time reminding myself that God was working things out for His good. I am sure I will share more as time goes on.

This year, my word is Persevere. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines Persevere as this:

to persist in a state, enterprise, or undertaking in spite of counterinfluences, opposition, or discouragement.

I travel 25 miles to my gym three days a week but during that time, I always listen to a daily devotional (Our Daily Bread is what I use, but there are lots out there) and listen to at least 3 chapters in the Bible. It was late last year that I started really having a thing for the book of James and realizing it could really be titled "How to Survive Here on Earth". 

I want to do a series of studies from James and today we are starting from the beginning. James 1:1-4

1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:

Greetings.

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 

We have been learning a Bible Study at our Sunday night Bible studies that I love. It is called the HEAR method. Highlight, Explain, Apply and Respond. So lets break this down.

Of course, Verse 1 is just the introduction and telling us that James was, at that time writing to the 12 tribes of Israel but he starts out by saying, "I am a servant of God". I have realized over the past couple of years as I have truly pursued that daily communion with God that it has become easier and honestly more natural to share that I am a servant of God. I sometimes do this is a mix of strangers and then think, "Oh, should I have said that?" Thankfully, God let me say it before I had time to think. I was asked to serve on a leadership team for a committee for my work last October. I went to this meeting in Danville and was faced with 5 people, only 1 of whom I had ever met before and then didn't know her well. When I was asked to tell about myself, I heard the words coming out of my mouth about starting out my day with God and a workout. I told about my routine that if I was going to the gym or running outside, I was listening to my devotional, my Bible and having my morning talk with God and then I thought.... and wondered if I really should have done that, but months later, the leader made the statement to me, " I think so often of you telling about your mornings and I admire your commitment.".  I am not sure of the faith of all the people I was with, but I know they are sure of what I believe and I have had the opportunity to visit with a couple of the others about their faith and I am sure me starting it made it easier for them to open up. 

So here is my takeaway from verse 1
Highlight -Servant  Explain- James identified himself first as a servant. Apply- I need to identify as a servant of God as well. Respond. Lord, help me be a more open and available servant for you.

Verse 2 shows James telling us to "consider it pure joy" when you face trials. I think I used to think, "why do you hate me" when things went wrong, and this verse solidifies that God doesn't hate me, he loves me and wants to make me stronger. Don't get me wrong, I probably still ask God why on a daily basis but I now can hear the answer--because you need to go through this. When I remember Romans 8:28, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." I realize, I am constantly "on assignment" and there are things here that if I handle correctly, will glorify Him. And isn't that what our jobs as Christians is to be? He never promised easy, but He promised us He would always take care of us. 

Takeaway from verse 2
Highlight -Consider it joy when you have trials  Explain- God is giving you an assignment that can glorify Him Apply- I need to remember the long term outcome and that I am being used by God through whatever I am going through Respond. Lord, help me remember I am yours and you will always do what is best for me, you definitely do not hate me, but love me and want to see me grow in you and want others to be blessed because of it.

Verses 3-4 hits my word, Perseverance. You know testing your faith produces perseverance. I know the King James Version ( I am using NIV) uses the word patience. It was a common joke in our house that you never pray for patience because patience is learned through testing but truth be told, God wants to teach you to react wisely when things go wrong, so the more patience and perseverance you can show, the more you can shine for Him. There are days I truly pray for patience and understanding because I know the trials are coming. I actually have gotten to the point where I say a quick prayer anytime I know I am getting ready to get on the phone with a customer because normally, if they are calling me, they are not happy and the way I handle the next few minutes has the direct opportunity for me to be Jesus for someone on the other end because lets face it, if they are on the phone with me because they are upset, they are more than likely in the midst of their own trial, their own storm. I want to concentrate the most on being Jesus to them and helping calm that storm.

Highlight- Perseverance   Explain- the more we have, the more mature we are in Christ. Apply- I need to remember trails are not punishment but opportunities for me to grow closer to Him. Respond- Lord, help me have the perseverance I need to do the best I can for You.

Hopefully, this gives you a bit of perspective as to why things go wrong and how to react. Little things like not being able to get this silly lid off of a jar, to big things like having a flat tire when you are already late for an appointment, to huge things like the second you see the helicopter take off with a loved one on board. He is working all things out for our good. 

Last year was a tough year, and I probably learned as much about perseverance as I did about being strong, but I know the more perseverance I have, the stronger I am. I am going to leave you with a song this morning. God never leaves us or forsakes us, there is a saying out there, if you are feeling far away from God, it is not Him who moved. 

Enjoy this song, Gonna Be Alright by Ryan Ellis

Have a GREAT day!