“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish it’s work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

1 James: 2-4

I can remember in the early stages of my commitment thinking to myself and questioning God as to why the test felt impossible.  There were many reasons for this. At times it was because I truly had a hard time believing his promises. Other times it was because I went in and out of the full commitment holding on to “strings of the flesh” that I thought I needed.  It was also the enemy (Satan) continuing to pump my mind full of lies that would keep me at bay and allow me to not completely surrender. Perseverance at times felt like the enemy because it was hard. Come to find out that perseverance was the only thing that keep me linked to the commitment.

As I matured in my own relationship with God I realized that anything that came easy was typically the work of my own flesh or the enemy. The enemy always wants us to take the easy way out. He requires very little work and very short term satisfaction. It wasn’t until I grew in my faith that I realized that God had a permanency to his plan. He was not interested in the feelings that I would acquire in a day, but rather the feelings that I would adopt over a lifetime. God is only interested in the choices that we make which have an eternal impact.

I bring this up because it is so important for me to remind myself that when I persevere, I have conquered my flesh and all that goes with it.  This builds strength and strength builds a deeper relationship with God.  I love this scripture and the great reminder that when we conquer life with God, we lack very little.  I am so grateful for the times when it seemed impossible to move forward and keep believing. Without those hard times, my commitment would be shallow and filled with fleshly desires that didn’t build character or provide happiness.

When I think of perseverance with God, I think of joy. I love moving into a deeper level of commitment with God; to the point that I can rest in the trial and know that God is going to help me through it as long as I stay faithful. I love the commitment and everything that it stands for. I love our God who presents this opportunity to us that can be life changing. I can hardly remember the empty feelings of the flesh that I had before the commitment. The commitment has built in me a heart that has depth and is free from pain.

Take some time to pray and discover your commitment. Our journeys won’t be the same but our God is identical…..