This has been a difficult year for me thus far.
Just this week alone I lost my voice Sunday and Monday (not good for a trial attorney), was prescribed medicine on Tuesday, and after taking it ended up in the emergency room. I’m currently fighting an ear infection in my left ear and am having difficulty hearing out of it.
All of this is happening in the midst of a busy week at work and even busier one ahead.
My tendency is to want to dig in and just endure until this trial has passed, just get to the finish line and get it behind me so I can get back to living my life and doing my job. And then I read this:
“Happy is the one who endures testing, because when he has proven to be genuine, he will receive the crown of life that God promised to those who love him.” (James 1:12, The NET Bible)
The NASB says “once he has been approved,” but the meaning is the same, namely that enduring is not enough but whether in the enduring you have been found to be genuine or authentic.
I had to ask myself whether when I go through trials do I grumble and complain like the non-Christians, or do I rejoice and praise Him that He is working all things to His good and making me more like Jesus.
Style matters. I’ve blogged here before about the martyrdom of Polycarp, who endured his testing with such style we still talk about it 2,000 years later.
The world is watching when Christians endure hardship. They are watching to see if we are authentic, if we are who we say we are or just pretenders. So, in this trial I’m trying to not just endure but earn some points for style. GS