"Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing." James 1:2-4 HCSB
Planting a church has been a long process; some of it because of the red tape, some of it because I've been waiting for clear direction in certain spots, and some of it because all five of us have been sick at some point over the past three weeks. Regardless of what the delays have been, these past few weeks have required more endurance than one might like, but according to the above verses, God is doing a work in me that will leave more mature than when He began.
Endurance can never be easy; you must suffer through whatever the trial is as you experience it. For example, for me to watch Dumb and Dumber is not a trial to endure, but a pleasure to enjoy. However, should you make me watch something like The Notebook (which I'm proud to say I've never seen), that would, indeed, be a trial to endure. My point is that endurance and suffering seem to go hand in hand, and that God uses those things to make us what He wants us to be.
It's hard to find "great joy", as these verses put it, when you are watching your son leave on an ambulance at 3:00 AM because he can't breathe well enough on his own. It's hard to find "great joy" when you've got countless hoops to jump through when all you want to do is bring Jesus to the people around you. It's hard to find "great joy" when you're not sure what God might be calling you to. Fortunately, however, if we endure, we'll see where God was at work and will understand how He was maturing us.
As our faith is tested and endurance develops, we'll find ourselves even more inclined to get out of the boat.
JU
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