March 17th – James 1:2
James 1:2
An Indian guru once said, “The stones of a river start out rough, but with the current continually bumping and polishing them, they end up being beautiful.” A perfect description of the Christian life. Each of us are as river stones. Rough and jagged around the edges, tossed and turned in the raging current of life. And although no one looks forward to the grating friction brought on by tribulations, we are to think of troubles as a joyful blessing. Why? Because as James tells us, “the testing of your faith produces perseverance”. (James 1:3) Spiritual perseverance is never giving up no matter how hard our circumstance may be. It’s trusting that God is using our situation to grow our faith, and working all things together for our good. (Rom. 8:28) And what great joy there is in knowing that our Father does so in love, with the purpose of making us “perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:4)
