THANKFUL

Thursday, September 05, 2019

Good morning, Jesus.

Lord, all who follow you must go through trials, some of which are fiery trials. All who follow you experience problems. Jesus, you said we would have troubles, and you weren’t kidding. But our hope is in you since you said to be of good cheer, since you overcame the world (John 16:33). Later you half-brother James opened his great book by saying, “Consider it pure joy, my friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors” (James 1:2—3 MSG—Message Translation). Reading that passage for the first time leave many wondering what is in store for those who follow Jesus? We enjoy all the blessings and good feelings that accompany your followers, but who among us want these trials and problems? James expounds on his statement: “So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it [life’s stuff] do its work, so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way (v4).

Lord, help us remember you are in control and have our backs, You’d never dump on us and leave us hanging, but you intend for challenges to draw us closer to you to reveal how you work through our faith. Professional fisherman-turned-preacher, Peter, stated it another way: Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine” (1 Peter 1:7 MSG). (emphasis mine)

Since we are a work in progress, help us keep a godly attitude when we endure trials. Let us look for you at work in these situations. And put spiritual duct tape on our mouth if we (read I) complain. May we be like the three Hebrew children who were thrown in the fire yet emerged unharmed. Daniel wrote, “. . .they didn’t even smell like smoke” (Daniel 3:27).

Thankful you keep us from smelling like a smokestack, Lord Jesus. In your name, Amen.