Today's Journey
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Jun 07, 2012
“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial.” James 1:12
There
I was driving along, half hypnotized by the steady flow of traffic. I
glanced at the car ahead of me. The bumper sticker read, “When the going
gets tough, the tough go shopping!” I chuckled. But then I thought:
Could you really call yourself “tough” if you headed for the mall every
time life went sour? As I drove, I pondered how to really finish that
sentence, “When the going gets tough, the tough . . . do what?”
A
quick Internet search on the phrase returned endless possibilities for
completing the thought. Here are some of the wackiest endings: “When the
going gets tough, the tough “go to Asia,” or, the tough “start
knitting.” One even said, “The tough lighten up!”
All of these
alternative endings are humorous in their own way. But, they also
represent ways to deal with “tough going.” For example, shopping could
symbolize immediate gratification. Racing off to Asia might mean you’re
running away from the problem. Starting to knit is a picture of
distracting yourself from the trouble at hand. And if you simply lighten
up, or laugh it off—that’s kind of like denial.
I don’t think any
of us would get very far in life if we repeatedly chose those responses
to trouble. They all contradict the traditional ending to the phrase.
“When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” The tough hang in there; they persevere. James 1:12 says: “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life.”
In the Greek language, the word perseverance
is literally made up of two words. One means “to remain.” The other
word means “under.” That tells us that perseverance is the ability to
remain under the pressure of difficulty with a good spirit. As
Christians, we have a responsibility to bear the stress until God
accomplishes His purposes. This gives us the assurance that our
suffering has meaning.
In fact, God intends that we, in time, will
blossom under the pressure. That’s why James exhorts us to submit to
the trial and let perseverance finish its job of sanctification. In James 1:4,
the text tells us, “Perseverance must finish its work so that you may
be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” And, check out Romans 5:1-21 where Paul says that perseverance produces character!
In
addition to the blessings that God brings to us when we persevere,
perseverance also allows others to see Christ at work in our lives. With
the growing interest in spirituality today, people are watching us more
than ever before.
They are looking to see if there is anything of value
in our walk with Jesus. Or, are we just like anyone else when the going
gets tough? They want to know, would a Christian use a string of
four-letter words if she lost the big sale? Would a Christian booze it
up after a crazy stressful day at the office? What would it take for a
Christian to throw in the towel on his marriage? When we invite God to
help us through situations like these, He furnishes the power to
persevere so that onlookers can see that our Jesus is worth being
faithful to regardless of the stress.
The next time a problem
comes up and you’re tempted to go shopping, gallivant off to Asia, or
knit yourself into oblivion, remember: Since God has a purpose in your
problem, it’s worth hanging in there! So, if you are a follower of
Jesus, your bumper sticker announces, “When the going gets tough, the
tough hang in there!”
YOUR JOURNEY…
- Many people in the Bible struggled with difficult circumstances, but they did not give up. Read Hebrews 11:1-40. What enabled those people to persevere?
- Do you have true grit? Write down some recent responses to trouble in your life. Do you tend to stay the course, or do you look for a way out?
- If you need encouragement to persevere, read the following Scriptures: Psalm 73:26; 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12; Hebrews 10:19-39; 12:1-3.
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