Keep Focused on your position in Christ
For reflection Who am I? Am I a faithful person or an unfaithful person?
The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. 10 But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he 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 man will fade away even while he goes about his business. (James 1:9-11) 9
The reality is that the answer only comes to us as we are tested and as we persevere and we can see what is really in our hearts. A faithful person, amid the pain in their hearts, amid tears, may cry out, “Lord, I don’t understand why I am going through this! Please help me! I am hurting so desperately! Where are You! Lord, I trust you to give me wisdom and strength to endure.”
If we are going to experience joy in the midst of hardship, then we have got to keep our focus on our position in Christ and not on our circumstances, whether our circumstances are good or bad.
A faithful person can say along with David as he writes in Psalm 31:9-15:
James says when you are in humble circumstances, you need to be taking “pride in (your) high position,” your position in Christ that makes you a child of the King, and will bring you into His presence for eternity.
9
Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow,
Martin Luther said, “there are two days that matter: this day and that day.” How can we keep focused on that day so that we can take joy in this day no matter our circumstance?
my soul and my body with grief. 10
My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning;
For those who are “rich”, for those whose circumstances are not so bad right now, it is also imperative that we keep focused on our position in Christ, that we are a child of the King, not because we are rich or because we are good, but because, by God’s grace, apart from anything we have done or could do, we have been saved.
my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak. 11
Because of all my enemies,
I am the utter contempt of my neighbours; I am a dread to my friends--
Blessed is...
those who see me on the street flee from me.
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. (James 1:12)
12
I am forgotten by them as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery. 13
The only way we are going to experience joy in the midst of hardship is if we seek the wisdom of the Lord through our faith in Him, that He is good and that He is working all things “for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
For I hear the slander of many; there is terror on every side; they conspire against me and plot to take my life.
14
Where are you today?
But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.”
Maybe you are facing some trials in your life and it is painful beyond anything you have experienced.
15
If you want to find joy in the midst of this, a peace and contentment that surpasses understanding, then you need to trust our Lord.
My times are in your hands
Choose to find joy in Hardship, trade your sorrows for the joy of the Lord.
Trials serve to test our faith.
Make this your prayer that the Lord would help you to find His joy amid whatever hardship you may be facing.
Our faith in Christ shows us that our hope is not for this life only, it is for eternity.
Where is your hope? Do you say that it is in the Lord, but the reality shows that it is in this life? 4