an upside down kingdom?
James 1:2-4 “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
So much of what we read in the Word doesn’t make sense to our human minds and especially our Western way of thinking. I don’t really want to count trials as joy…I would just prefer not to have them! I would love for everything to be clear and easy all the time. I would like the right decisions to be obvious. I would like to never deal with sickness or heartache. I would like to never be afraid. But God’s Word says, “Count it all joy”.
I had a pretty difficult childhood and when I became a parent, I made a promise within myself to never allow my children to feel the way that I did when I was growing up. But God has shown me that it is because of those times that I know Him the way that I do. As a child, I knew that I had to depend on Him to take care of me and He always did. It is because of the difficult times, not in spite of them, that I love Jesus with all my heart. This realization has given me freedom and allowed me to step out of fear in my own life and for the lives of my children.
Not long ago I was in a table group with about 15 other women and the leader of our group asked us each to share a time when God took our breath away. As we went around the table, it was beautiful to see that every single person’s moment was one of hardship. There was not one person who said that God took their breath away when everything was fantastic. Without fail, it was a moment when they were at the end of themselves and God moved in a powerful and personal way.
I would still rather not have to go through challenging times but I know that God is faithful to not only get me through them but to abundantly pour out His blessings in the midst of them. Those blessings may not always be things that we can see with our physical eyes. They may be things like a deep dependance on Him that we would not otherwise have, supernatural joy that doesn’t seem to make sense, peace that passes understanding.
When you don’t give up in the hard times but stand with resolve and choose to believe even when it’s hard, I promise you, He will always be faithful.
There have been times when I have thought of God’s way of doing things as upside down…so opposite from the way that makes sense to me. But I’ve realized that my way is actually upside down and when I can flip things around and see with His perspective, that is when I see the way that leads to life.
Prayer
Dear Lord, in every circumstance, please help me to always seek your face and rest in peace, believing that you have good in store for me. In the name of Jesus, amen.
