Jeff Tacklind’s message on James 1:1-7
Read 2-4
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything
“Why waste time proving over and over how great you are, when you could be getting better? Why hide deficiencies instead of overcoming them? Why look for friends or partners who will just shore up your self-esteem instead of ones who will also challenge you to grow? And why seek out the tried and true, instead of experiences that will stretch you? The passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it’s not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset. This is the mindset that allows people to thrive during some of the most challenging times in their lives.” Carol Dweck
“…there are no shortcuts to excellence. Developing real expertise, figuring out really hard problems, it all takes time―longer than most people imagine….you’ve got to apply those skills and produce goods or services that are valuable to people….Grit is about working on something you care about so much that you’re willing to stay loyal to it…it’s doing what you love, but not just falling in love―staying in love.”
― Angela Duckworth, Grit: Passion, Perseverance, and the Science of Success
Wisdom is the settled disposition of the soul to act in accordance with knowledge.
1 Peter 1:6-7
“though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
James 1:5-7
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
2 Cor. 4
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
How do we persevere in this life?
1. The first thing is having a vision larger than anything this world can offer. You have to exchange your illusions of comfort for one of deep meaning and purpose.
2. You have to let go of the lust of immediate pleasure for temporary happiness, for instead the delayed gratification of glory, that far outweighs it.
3.You have to have courage to step into conflict, when you’d prefer to avoid it.
4. To speak truth, when you’d prefer to simply smooth things over.
5. To admit when you’re wrong. To learn and grow. To accept instruction.
6. To realize that this life is not about you. That you’re someday going to die.
James 1:9-11
9 Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. 10 But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. 11 For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.
Some Questions as we close:
1. What are the three most difficult trials you are facing today…the real ones, not the potential ones.
2. If God is in control and has your very best in mind, how might he be using these to grow you where you’re weak. To increase your endurance. What areas might you be needing to grow?
3. What would it look like to step into this trial with courage and bravery? How would you hope you would respond? Ask God for the strength.