Clay in the Hands

Several weeks ago, I began a small group for young adults, 25 and younger.  It has been a true blessing to get to know each of the folks more deeply.  Yesterday, we started a new study – on the book of James.  We made it all the way through verse 3 (this may take a while).

The reason for the amount of time spent in those first three verses comes in verse 2.  It says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds.”

Let that verse sink in for a minute – the writer says we should think about it as joy when we have to endure difficult things.  Our first reaction is to think, “What was the writer of this book on when he wrote this?”  I mean, how am I supposed to be pleased when my water heater goes out and I have to spend half of a day replacing it – or when the heater goes out on my car and it spends two days in the shop and is still not fixed (yes, that was a picture of last week in my life).  How are we to be happy when things like this occur?

One of the first things to understand is that there is a difference between happiness and joy.  The author of James does not say we should be happy and bubbly when things go wrong, he says we should have joy.  Happiness is an emotion that comes when things are going our way.  While joy incorporates an element of happiness, it is much deeper.  Joy involves an inner peace that comes when we have a glimpse of the bigger picture.  Joy, for a Jesus follower, is the result of knowing to whom you belong.  It is the liberation that we have in knowing that we don’t have to worry about tomorrow because God is in control.

This verse is evidence in scripture that we must realize that trials will come.  When we commit our lives to Christ, we are not suddenly and mysteriously protected from bad things.  Bad things happen to good people – that is life.  But what the verse does say is that we should have joy when they do come because come they will.

The reason for the joy can be found in the next two verses.  We are told that these trials will produce perseverance (patience and endurance – true experience) and this perseverance will result in maturity.

So here is the question for you today?  Are you experiencing a trial that seems overwhelming?  If not, stop and thank God and then realize a trial will come.  But if you are, remember that God is in control.  God has a plan.  And if you focus on the big picture – maturity and experience – you can have joy even in the midst of it.

Be blessed today!

Southwest Airlines has made somewhat of a claim to fame in their offering of peanuts on every flight.  While other airlines were offering a wide variety of things (remember when you used to get actual meals on some flights?), Southwest chose to offer only peanuts.  Now days you can get pretzels too!  But it is still pretty simple.

Maybe they are on to something.  Could it be that simpler is better?  Perhaps in a world of more, more, more we should look for less.

When we really dig down to the basics of faith, it is a simple relationship that matters.  And that relationship is grown and developed by simply spending time with Jesus.  As a fellow follower in the Way, I challenge you this week to do less.  But in your effort to do less, focus your time on the one relationship that makes all the difference.

I pray you have a simple week!