Winter Fire – Mighty God - Tuesday
Today’s Verse
James 1:2-4
“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” (NIV)
This morning, I woke up early to a cold, dark world. When I walked outside, the sun still hadn’t said hello from the other side of the horizon, and temperatures were far from friendly (how do people make it in the Arctic Circle?). Veins of ice covered the pavement and my car gave an extra little grunt before turning over. Even now, though the sun is up, the skies are deep gray and part of me wished for a nice, spring day (even though fall basically just ended). I can just picture a warm, sunny day in early May… The sun sure does make a big difference, doesn’t it?
No matter the temperature outside, though, there are seasons when our souls seem to experience the depths of winter. Every crevice of the earth seems frozen over, as though the joy of spring would never come. In these moments, it can feel nearly impossible to hold on to hope—except for Jesus. Truly, I could not have walked on the other side of the trials I have faced without the hope of Jesus. I once heard it said that for those who face eternity with Jesus, this world is the closest they will experience to Hell. And for those who face eternity without the one true God, this world is the closest they will experience to Heaven. I’m inclined to believe it, and although the thought seems a bit existential, it is also comforting in light of Jesus (see Revelation 21:4).
If anyone tells you that when you follow Jesus, you will never experience pain another day in your life, do not listen! God is good, but Scripture is clear that we will continue to face hardships: “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 NIV). Did you catch that, though? These troubles aren’t all for naught. God uses these trials to grow and mature us. To what end? So that we may learn to lean into and onto our Mighty God.
This season of cruel ice is not the end of the story. Friend, you are not asked to walk through this alone. No matter how the enemy twists the story, we know the ending: Christ has won the war over sin and death!
