August 22 – No Consolation Prize
Dear Marisa,
«But let patience have her perfect work, that ye maybe perfect and entire, wanting nothing.»
(James 1:4)
I talk a lot about faith. But there’s another force that goes along with it that’s just as important. It’s patience, the ability to stand fast on the Word of God even when your victory seems slow in coming.
Patience is not automatic. It won’t go to work unless you let it go to work. So many people don’t understand that. They somehow think faith and patience will go to work for them without their help. They just let the devil tear their lives apart and then they say silly things like, «Well, I guess God sent that trial to strengthen my faith.»
Don’t you ever get caught saying that!
In the first place, James says, «Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God» (James 1:13). And in the second place, that trial isn’t going to make your faith stronger. In fact, it’ll destroy it if you’ll let it.
If I were to give you a set of weights, would that set of weights make you any stronger? No. As a matter of fact, if you dropped one of them on your foot, you could end up painfully weaker. It’s what you do with them that counts, right?
Well, the same thing is true when you run into some kind of trying circumstance the devil’s brought your way. If you just lay down and let it run over you, it will damage you. But if you’ll let patience have her perfect work, if you’ll remain consistently constant, trusting in and relying confidently on the Word of God, you’ll end up perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
«Wanting nothing.» That phrase alone should convince you that patience is no consolation prize. It’s a first-rate power that will put the promises of God within your reach. It’s a force that will make a winner out of you.
