When Things Go Wrong
James 1:1-4
Have you ever heard the expression “hitting the wall”? It sounds painful, doesn’t it? “The wall” is sometimes used among individuals who have recently begun a new athletic endeavor, most often jogging.
Symptoms include a racing heart rate, perspiration pouring down, and lungs gasping for breath in loud, painful inhalations. For new runners, this is the point at which one simply cannot go another step.
After experiencing this sensation, many people give up running. After all, exercise is supposed to make you feel good, right?
The problem for these new runners is that they have not yet reached the point of physical endurance. This is what enables runners to continually grow stronger and better able to jog farther each day.
Endurance is the result of determination, discipline, and the willingness to suffer in order to achieve results. This is true in your spiritual life as well as on the racetrack.
James 1:1-4 shows the progression of spiritual stamina. In the passage, joy in the face of extreme trials produces endurance, the end result of which is maturity, or “perfection/completion.” Pray for God’s help in meeting your everyday trials with the joy that comes from Christ, so that you may develop spiritual endurance, and ultimately, maturity in Christ. |
