Prayer Calendar Archive

by Lisa Hall, international prayer coordinator

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:2-4)

I think the most satisfying books and movies are the ones in which the main characters go through extremely difficult circumstances, but they are not destroyed by them. Instead, the perseverance they display actually makes them into better people.

The Father desires us to become like his Son, Jesus, and he wants our faith in him to grow and mature as we learn to trust him in all things. And the way that God usually produces this growth is through challenges in our lives. James 1:3 says that the testing of our faith produces perseverance. But there is a stipulation: It does this only if we don’t run away from the difficulties but rather allow the pressure of the circumstances to mature us.

If God wants us to have persevering hearts so that we can become more Christlike, how do we practically accomplish this? What do we need to understand and embrace? And even more importantly, what hope can we cling to as we walk through difficulty?

There is no getting around this truth – some of God’s words are hard to receive. Learning perseverance through trials and testing can be a difficult truth to embrace. It is only through knowing the Father’s heart of love for us and acknowledging that he is a good Father that we can willingly accept these words for our lives with courage and hope.

We don’t need to fear, for we are not alone.

Trials in life can be hard, but God tells us that we will not face them alone. Just as he told Joshua, he tells us, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deut. 31:6).

God promises to walk by our side. We can draw such comfort and strength from his vow that when we “pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze” (Isa. 43:2).

We are called to stand firm.

This is a deliberate act of our will to choose not to give up or run in our time of testing. As Paul discusses the armor of God in Ephesians 6:13, we are told, “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand (my emphasis). It’s not our job to fight or conquer – that is the job of God and his warrior angels. But we can stand our ground using the truth of the Scriptures just as Jesus did against Satan’s temptations in the wilderness.

Paul wrote in 2 Thessalonians 2:15 that we are also to “hold fast to the teachings” of God. We need to cling to the truths that we have been taught about God, his character and how he interacts with us in this life. The Father longs for us to believe him and not doubt. When we fix our minds on Jesus and the life he modeled for us, it enables us to stand firm in what he taught.

We place our faith in Jesus, who understands our trials.

“Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested” (Heb. 2:18).

Jesus faced temptations and trials in every way that we do and now intercedes for us as we walk a similar path. Friends, as we stand firm through difficult times with God alongside us, let’s call out to him “so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb. 4:16).