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When I was a teenager, I worked out by lifting weights. I really wanted to beef up my upper body. I was on the high school football team and the coach also wanted me to gain strength. Alas, God gave me a skinny body. I never did develop the chest and arm muscles I wanted. But I did get stronger. The coach also ran us through drills and sprints to improve our cardiovascular fitness. It wasn’t fun to leave practice panting for breath. Nor to experience all the sore muscles training produced. But it did get me ready for the game.
Listen to James 1:2-4, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (NIV)
Don’t you want to be spiritually mature? Don’t you want to be spiritually fit and ready for the game of life? Well, the process to get there is not always easy. It requires perseverance. Yesterday, we saw we sometimes have to persevere through suffering. This verse tells us we sometimes are tested in our faith. That’s right, we endure trials that force us to trust God more. As we persevere, we mature spiritually. Are you facing problems that are testing your trust in God? Hang in there! Keep on trusting him!
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Bumper music “Landing Place” performed by Mark July, used under license from Shutterstock.