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Perseverance Brings About Change By Jessica Ralph GOING FORTH
MAGAZINE James 1:2
“Consider it pure joy my brothers whenever you face trials of many kinds,
because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not
lacking anything.” When
times are good, our needs are met and we feel we are at our highest point in
life, we find ourselves exalting God and being appreciative for what he has
bestowed upon us. We think that
things can only continue to get better and we have an expectancy that God
will take us even higher in Him. When we find ourselves being granted with so
much, it is easy to assume that God will continuously overflow us with
bountiful blessings. But when we are in the midst of tests and trials, does
our outlook towards God remain the same? We pursue God for answers to our questions and seek him
when we are uncertain of how to handle unforeseen situations and when we
become desperate for him to perform a positive change in our life, we press
in to bring it about. Or do we?
It’s easier for us to just sit back and see how God will change our
situation but God’s response is to see how we are going to bring our change
about. You see, we have the power to bring our change into existence through
our faith attached to God’s works. God cannot perform alone; he needs our
willingness in addition to his capability. Yes, he can do all things at any
time – after all, it is GOD we are talking about, but spiritual growth comes
about through perseverance, the testing of our patience and trusting him to
work all things out for our good. Nothing
is too big nor too small for God to answer. We are speaking of a man who’s
power parted red seas, healed the woman with the issue of blood and caused
the walls of Jericho fall. After being reminded of this, do you think that
your request is too big to be answered? If such a miracle of multiplying five
loaves of bread and two fish enabled thousands to be fed, we shouldn’t be too
afraid to send up our requests to a mountain moving God! If Moses was too
afraid to hold out his rod and command the sea to part then the Israelites
would have had no way of escape. If the woman with the blood disease (Mark 5:25) refused to believe that
Jesus could cure her condition then it would not have changed. And Joshua
sweated bullets marching around those walls but he won the battle because of
His shouts unto the Lord (Joshua 4:19).
These people were tired! Moses led all of Israel in the desert for three days
without water (Exodus 15:22), the
woman with the issue of blood had little strength in her body but she was
determined to touch the hem of his garment and Joshua was doing a marathon
around those walls shouting his lungs out but they all still pressed forward.
Talk about perseverance! I
don’t think any one of us have encountered such troublesome times as these
but we ought to be thankful for the tough seasons that we face for they are
only brought about to make us more stronger and reliant on God. He has such
strength and will pour it out on us in our times of difficulty. Spiritual
growth is a process; how can we attain it if we don’t walk through some
storms and challenges? God must place us in circumstances that develop our
character and this is what perseverance grants us (Romans 5:4). Only
we can bring change about in our life. We face choices everyday and have to
decipher between the things that will advance us and the things that will
detour us from the path of righteousness. As Christians, we want to abide in
an atmosphere that makes it possible to feel God’s power but we have to
create that atmosphere for ourselves. If it means that we have to experience
a season of hardship and uncertainty in order to experience such depths to
God’s mercy, would we endure it? Moses did, Joshua did and so did the woman
with the fatal blood disease. Did God meet their need in the end? Yes. Will
he meet ours? Absolutely. PRAYER Father, I pray for positive changes in my life
and I believe that they will be brought about as I persevere in you. May I
remain patient as you bring forth the specified timing of your promises. Help me to remain righteous and to
seek you first in all things. In Jesus’ name. Amen. Reflection Questions: 1.) How does this devotional relate to a circumstance that you
are going through? 2.) What brings about positive changes in your life? 3.) What is God trying to teach you through tests and trials? 4.) What will happen as a result of you persevering towards God?
For more great articles, interviews and more, check out
Jessica's wonderful site, Going Forth Magazine. Thanks to Jessica for
allowing us to share this article with our readers! |
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