Being Faithful

Being Faithful
 
James 1:2-4, 12
“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing… Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.”
 
Examples of temptations… how the devil puts things right in our way…things he knows we are vulnerable to. Temptations…cigarettes in a mailbox on the route of a recently saved mail carrier…a pornographic magazine lying in the middle of a lonely road in the path of a person battling that very addiction…old friends who call repeatedly badgering a newly saved young woman in an effort to drag her back to the old lifestyle…these and so many more…
 
But James says count it all JOY… What! What is the joy in suffering temptations? What happens if we can pass up that temptation without giving in? Temptations are a proving of our faith under pressure. As we succeed in resisting the temptations, we build patient endurance and increase our ability to resist next time. It serves to encourage us with each trial and test we come through. And…Jesus gave us the ultimate example of how to handle temptations, didn’t He? Each time Satan made Him an offer, the Lord answered it with Scripture. Psalms 119:11 says, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” We cannot speak what we do not know, so we must study the Word and hide it in our hearts…
 
James 1:2, “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;” The difficulties and troubles that try our patience and test our faith may tempt us to find an easier way…or they may tempt us to do wrong in order to avoid what is hard or painful. In this verse is that word JOY. How can our temptations be a source of joy? Pleasure and joy is not the same thing. Pleasure is passing or fleeting, but joy lasts. An athlete who trains strenuously for a contest must suffer some pain in preparation. He can hardly find pleasure in those long hours when every muscle in his body is aching, but even then he can know joy as he looks forward to the contest with the hope of victory. It’s the same way with temptations. As they come upon us, they often bring suffering. Yet at the same time, we can find joy in them because we know that overcoming them will make us spiritually stronger and better able to resist future temptations. We can find comfort in knowing that the Lord knows how much we can handle and won’t allow more than that to be put upon us.
 
1 Corinthians 10:13, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
 
If you think you can’t go on, keep going, because God knows you better than you know yourself.
 
James 1:3, “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.” Are we born with patience? No, it is something that is acquired and not easily at that. We will be tried. The devil brings things at us in an attempt to get us to surrender our convictions or compromise them (just a little)… In withstanding these temptations, we learn patience…the patience that will allow us to recognize and resist new trials and temptations…enduring brings the crown of life…James 1:12, “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.” We have to endure ALL THE WAY to the very end!
 
Romans 5:2-4, “By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope:” God is looking for faithful people…people who will not give up.

Charlotte Dixon