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.~James 1:2-4 (NIV)
Thanks to a recent Sunday sermon and a recent Bible Study, I come to find the "joy" concept from James 1 very powerful and illuminating. Physically, I hyperventilate a bit every time I ponder on it.
During trying times, many Christians would by reflex pray for deliverance. If God's answer is not to deliver right away, then many would cope through perseverance. It's not often that one hears about embracing the given trials with joy (let alone with "pure joy" as written the NIV translation or with "sheer joy" as in Eugene Peterson's Bible translation) because they're precious opportunities for us to develop into maturity and become complete.
1 comment:
Although you're talking about joy in trials, it still reminds me of Piper's When I Don't Desire God: How to Fight for Joy that I gave Johnny as a gift 3 years ago (perhaps it's the tagline)...
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