THE THINGS THAT SHAPE YOU
James 1:2-4
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Training for a sporting event, a long race or a mountain climb can be very strenuous, it can be painful and tedious. I'm not one that enjoys exercise for the sake of exercise... But putting a goal at the end, a carrot hung in front of me, as it were, and I can put up with the discomfort... I can usually "endure".
God allows our faith to be tested, He allows us to face trials of many kinds. In the Old Testament, He allowed Job to loose everything he had except for his wife and a few friends, which weren't much help anyhow. God allows these things to come upon us for the strengthening of our faith and the building of our character.
Walt Disney said it like this...
"All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me... You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you."
God doesn't allow these things for a hardening of our hearts but to allow us to grow into a closer relationship with Him.
I read a small saying the other day and it struck me as not only being true but had a great lesson in it.
"The same boiling water that softens potatoes hardens eggs. It's all about what you're made of, not your circumstances."
Similarly, the same fire that consumed the 250 men who offered incense during Korah's rebellion, was also used to glorify God when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego walked out of the furnace
This is a great tesrimony that shows that, It's how we go into a trial or testing that determines how we come out. If we go in with our hearts set on God and in joy we will come out stronger and closer to the Lord... If we go in already negative, we will only dig the hole deeper.
The trials will come, how will they shape you?
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