A Nugget from New Life Network
(some excerpts from Future Now)
Scripture for the Day (March 24, 2016)
Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the
Lord is your strength. (Nehemiah 8:10)
James 1:2-4 says, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” Everyone wants to be perfect (mature) and complete, lacking nothing. But nobody wants to go through persecutions, trials or tests.
Tests are good, how would you ever know if you passed if you never took a test. In education, tests help determine achievement, so not ever having your faith tested would be like being promoted without ever taking a test. Think about it like this. You take tests in school to find out what you learned. But you also find out what you didn’t learn. Have you ever noticed that after people take a test they don’t ask about the questions they knew, they ask about the ones they didn’t know? When your faith is tested you can find out your weaknesses or what you didn’t know and learn from them.
I remember a time when we were living in Memphis, TN that we went through a test of our faith. My wife was struggling with a bad case of poison oak that had come from our firewood. We had a close friend that was a Doctor in Memphis six months out of the year and a missionary to Africa the other six months. She had recently returned from Africa and had just learned she had contracted malaria. I had just went through dental surgery and my jaw was all swollen out of shape. Here we were great men and women of faith and power and we all looked like death warmed over.
As we came together to pray that night this same scripture came up as we were praying (James 1:2-4). The part that jumped out at us was “count it all joy”. None of us felt joyful but as we looked at each other, and read that scripture, we all began to laugh hysterically. As we laughed together all that doom and gloom and woe is me stuff left.
I know that may sound crazy to some of you but the Word says that when we go through trials to “count it all joy”. A Pastor that we read about went on a vacation with his family one time and when they returned he learned he had been voted out of his position that he had held for many years. This was devastating to the Pastor and his family.
He went to one of his closest minister friends for counseling. The counselor, after hearing all the details, asked him a simple question. When we talk about this situation 15-20 years down the road, how do you think we’ll address it? The counselor said I think we will recall this situation with laughter and say something like, “do you remember that time when you went on vacation and came back and they had voted you out of the church?” And we will start laughing about it. And then the counselor said something very profound. “If we are going to laugh about this in 15-20 years, why don’t we just laugh about it now by faith.”
The joy of the Lord is your strength! Count it all joy!
Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart. (Psalm 32:11)
