“Perseverance must finish its work so that you may

be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

James 1:4 (NIV)

 

If you prefer to listen to this lesson, click on this link:

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To one degree or another, we’ll remember 2020 as the year of tribulation. Each of us can name several instances where we’ve been tested during this pandemic. People are experiencing food shortages. Money is low. And many have lost their jobs, and may never get them back. People have fallen ill. Too many have died. Everyone has been affected in one way or another. All of us are physically, emotionally, and spiritually separated from family and friends. Day by day, we’re growing weary and anxious to come together.

In our walk with Christ Jesus, we sometimes fail to recognize he feels our pain … he’s walked our walk … and he knows exactly what it’s like to be alone and abandoned. Whether we feel it or not, God is with us, just as he was with Christ as Christ hung on the cross. That’s a spiritual fact. A fact we affirm with “Amen” when it’s preached from the pulpit on Sunday mornings. We affirm it by tapping our feet when it’s echoed from a songbook. We affirm this spiritual fact by nodding our heads when someone speaks these words in our Bible class. But when it comes to living out the word through the living word, our faith waivers. Hardships come and we doubt. We forget our hurt is only solved through Christ. We forget that in spite of how we feel or what we’re going through, we are called to stand firm and to Live the Word through the Living Word.

Why do cares of the world easily overtake us and cause us to waver from God?

Could it be we’re sometimes treating God’s word as an insurance policy? Leaving it neatly inside a drawer, hidden away in some special place, easily accessible in times of need? Let me remind you:  God’s Word is a love story—a story of reconciliation. His love letters should be read daily, diligently, prayerfully. Occasionally, we spend too much time from the loving words of the Father, forgetting how much he loves us, letting too much time come between us and the Holy One, unaware that the longer we go without reading his love letters, the farther we drift away. It’s like going through the day without eating. When we finally sit down for a meal, we gorge it because we’re so famished.

In the midst of desperation, we divulge God’s word in large quantities like a famished person who hasn’t eaten for days—looking for a quick fix—failing to discern the word, failing to allow his word to marinate. When our lives finally calm down, we realize how exhausted we’ve become. We pull away and rest, unaware weeks have passed … months … apart from the Word until the next crisis.

And there begins the cycle of our lives.

This is not what God calls us to do. He does not call you to live in desperation.

God calls us to meditate on his word. Not gorge it like animals. He wants us to think on it … apply it … be thankful for it … be in prayer about it … ask for ways to share it with others … to live out the word through the living word. To be specific, we are to mimic Jesus … mimic our forefathers who lived by faith … to wait upon the Lord with patience and diligence.

With my husband’s permission, I want to share his story so you can better understand what I mean.

Not too long ago, my husband’s duties changed at work. He’s not a man of words, and he almost hates the English language. English was never his favorite subject in high school. He was more of a math whiz; now a project engineer by trade. In his new duties at work, he has been asked to write large amounts of narratives to summarize the status of on-going government projects.

Because he clearly understands his dilemma, he began spending more time in deep prayer. Shortly after his prayer time, he goes in our second bedroom which we’ve transformed into an office. He works on one side of the room, and I work on the other. After one of his conference calls, I noticed his heightened frustration with people who wouldn’t do their jobs properly. Within days, he became visibly stressed, was restless in his sleep, if he slept at all. He’d often tell me, “I don’t know if I can do this. I’m not a good writer. There’s too much to learn in too short of time.” I asked him, “Have you prayed about it?” His reply was, “All the time.”

Ladies, “What’s wrong with this picture?” Did God not say,

“But when (you) ask, (you) must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.” (James 1:6-8)

I looked at my husband in the eyes and recalled the story of Noah … how Noah spent much time physically laboring to build the ark.

I recalled the story of Joseph – how a young seventeen-year-old was sold into slavery by his own family and plunged into a foreign culture; cast among a people who spoke a different language. I stressed to my husband how Joseph served his masters as if serving God Almighty, served prisoners in the same way he wanted to be served … doing all this regardless of his circumstances. And, I would be at fault here, if I did not highlight Joseph’s closeness with God during his time of trials and tribulations. Though he was hurt and alone, he didn’t feed his anger. He didn’t whine over lost possessions or for what he perceived as the “good life.” And let me also say this:  Joseph followed God’s lead without ever understanding why God allowed this to happen to him. Joseph didn’t piece it together until later … much later.

If you think your heartaches and pain will come from the world, you might need to rethink this. Your family (or whomever you consider family) can devastate you if you let them.

Joseph is you—devastated by your brothers and sisters. Joseph is me—abandoned, but not alone. And like all of us, he faced hardships, he faced loneliness, he faced false accusations (Potiphar’s wife), he faced people forgetting about him (the cupbearer – Genesis 40:23).

By the time I recited this biblical history to my husband, he shook his head and said, “I got it.”

But … I sat and wondered … did he really understand?

Later that same day, the truth was revealed. My husband’s co-worker telephoned and asked how he was doing. My husband replied, “I don’t know, man. I wish these people …”

I quickly interrupted the call by grunting, loudly. I spoke just as loud, by saying, “God is near. He hears. He will help you. Speak positively. Believe in the one who is able to save.”

After my husband’s call, I thought he would be angry that I interrupted him. But he stopped in front of my desk and said, “Thank you. I needed you to remind me and I appreciate it.”

Ladies, we are praying and reading our Bibles, hiding away in our closets, but sometimes we are “not” Living the Word Through the Living Word. Reading the word of God is of no benefit if we do not do what it says. “We’re like a man who looks himself in the mirror, and walks away and forgets what he looks like.” (James 1:23-24) You and I must not be lazy, but be students of God’s Word. Under pressure, against our will, during hardships, in the middle of family strife, when demands on our time are high, we must still be obedient servants and submit to God’s commands.

What does submission to God look like?

Do you remember Abraham’s faith? Good! Now, you must mimic his faith. Although the odds are against you, you must climb that treacherous mountain in faith, JUST LIKE ABRAHAM. Abraham remembered God’s promise to make him a father of nations, and he believed God would bring his son, Isaac, up from the dead. JUST LIKE ABRAHAM, you must BELIEVE.

Again, I ask: What does submission to God look like?

A change of attitude — by “… counting it all joy … when we face trials and tribulations.” (James 1:2-3) This passage of scripture is calling you to look at your trials from a different perspective. Trials exist to perfect your faith. They don’t exist to sop up your tears. Neither should your trials pull up a chair so the two of you can have coffee to devise a plan to manipulate yourself out of your situation. Trials exist to make you wail. And in your wailing, you are to stand firm, cry out to God, hold tight to God’s word, BELIEVING God is able to help you withstand the forces against you. And once you have persevered through your trials, you become a stronger, more faithful, more steadfast child of God, who is in a better position to be an example to those around you.

You see,

“Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, and not lacking anything.” (James 1:4)

Let me ask you something: Have you ever met a strong Christian whose faith hasn’t been perfected by hardship?

Aren’t trials in our lives so perseverance can work its good work in you, so you can become mature, spiritual, and godly?

Without trials, there is no perfection of your faith. Without our faith being made perfect, we are no closer to God than the ungodly.

I understand … I get it. Some of us don’t want to be uncomfortable. You might be thinking: “Donna, you don’t understand what I’m going through. My husband won’t get up and go to church with me. It’s better I leave things alone. You see, Donna, my child is rebellious, and I’m doing good just to get him or her out of the door to school … to work. My mother … My family … none of them get along and they lean on me way too much.”

Is it not a fact that there’s always something aggravating and testing our faith, and causing us to stumble? Is it not better to be uncomfortable in our struggles and remain obedient in Christ Jesus who can save us, rather than be comfortable in our wickedness and die in our sins? Who wants an eternal death?

Be reminded—

Perseverance produces Maturity, Completeness – James 1:4

Don’t doubt – James 1:6

“Blessed is the man who perseveres … because he will receive a crown of life.” (James 1:12)

God’s mighty hand will raise us up and set us high on the mountaintops even though there is a calamity all around us. Psalm 91:7-10 reads:

“A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you say, ‘The Lord is my refuge,’ and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.”

If this is too hard to believe, I want you to sit still for a moment and remember the last tragedy you experienced … the last debacle you encountered … the trouble with your job … the empty refrigerator … the last time you struggled to pay utilities … the last time you were abandoned by family and friends.

Remember that pain?

Now, as you think back, can you relate to Psalm 91:7-10? Let’s read it again,

“A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you say, ‘The Lord is my refuge,’ and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.”

You believe it now? Can you also see our relationship with God is hinged on belief and faith? If you lack belief … pray to God for your unbelief. If you lack faith … pray God strengthens your faith.

In closing, please remember to act out what you hear and see in the living Word of God. Mimic the life of Christ, the examples of the apostles, the faith of our forefathers, your grandmother’s struggles, your momma’s faith. Change your attitude and learn to look forward to opportunities to persevere in your faith so it can be made perfect.

I have highlighted eight things to do and remember, but I’m out of time. You can find this list on my blog page at: www.awriterfirst.wordpress.com.

Very quickly, here are eight things to do and remember:

1. Carve out 30 minutes a day to read the word of God. There are 24 hours in a day. Thirty minutes is exactly eight-tenths of a day. Is it really too much to ask to spend eight-tenths of your day with God?
2. Each and every time you become panicky or afraid, read Psalm 91 over and over again until you have it memorized. Read it aloud. When your mind wanders, start over and read louder.
3. Don’t let the world impose their wickedness on you. Remember, “…you are in the world, but not of the world.” (Romans 12:2)
4. Pray without ceasing. (I Thessalonians 5:17)
5. You must develop a sincere love for one another. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. (Romans 12:10)
6. Stop engaging in foolish talk.
7. Pray for those who don’t know the truth, for their end is near and it will be horrible to hear the wailing and gnashing of teeth. Their end cannot be UNdone.
8. Don’t be hardheaded. LISTEN to the Holy Spirit and FOLLOW his lead.

Amen.

Thank you for allowing me this opportunity to share God’s word. May God continue to open your hearts to the truth and help you overcome the flesh so you can Live the Word Through the Living Word of God.

 

An encouraging video is below.

Donna B. Comeaux

 

Note: This is a Bible lesson I presented on the 8:00 p.m. Thursday Ladies Prayer Line on July 23, 2020.

If you would like to hear my lesson by telephone, dial:  (515) 604-9300; Access Code – 635154; Lesson #229