KNOW This!

My brothers and sisters, you will have many kinds of trouble. But this gives you a reason to be very happy. You know that when your faith is tested, you learn to be patient in suffering. If you let that patience work in you, the end result will be good. You will be mature and complete. You will be all that God wants you to be. - James 1:2-4 ERV

Who likes to face temptations, trouble or hardships? Absolutely no one! The truth is we all have faced them and will continue to. I believe from everything that we faced or had to deal with in life, there is something that we can learn from the experience. Life is about growing and maturing, development and growth. No on one remains a baby, they must grow into an adult. So in the natural, so in the spiritual.

James 1:2 says, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations or when troubles of any kind come your way. One would ask the question; how can I count it all joy or be very happy when faced with many kinds of troubles or hardships? The focus is not to be on the trouble that we face, but it is to understand what we can learn or what development can we gain because of the trouble that we face.

When we face temptations or troubles, our faith is being tested. Do we really believe what we say? Is our trust really in God as we proclaim? It’s easy to say, I believe, but what is your behavior when you face trouble? The scripture says, count it all joy when you face temptations and troubles; but it does not stop there. It gives us the reason why we should count it all joy or be happy when faced with troubles. The scripture continues with the words, KNOWING this. What is it that we need to know when we are faced with temptations and troubles?

We need to KNOW that when our faith is tested, the reason we count is as joy is because our endurance or patience has a chance to grow. Our ability to endure or be patient during sufferings or hardship will be strengthened. We become stronger, fortified. We will no longer fall apart when under pressure. Remember, we are on a journey. Earth is not our final destination. We will face many temptations or troubles to divert us from completing this journey. We must learn endurance! Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved Matthew 24:12-13 AMP.

I am going to end this devotion with The Voice version. As difficult as they (troubles) are, you will ultimately find joy in them; if you embrace them, your faith will blossom under pressure and teach you true patience as you endure. And true patience brought on by endurance will equip you to complete the long journey and cross the finish line—mature, complete, and wanting nothing.

So, the next time you face temptations, troubles, hardships, count it all joy, because you KNOW that the testing of your faith will produce endurance - patience and this is profiting to you!

Your Next Is Now

“Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old” (Isaiah 43:18 NKJV).

When we look at the prophetic writings of Isaiah, we find God speaking through the prophet, reminding his people that He is the Almighty God and besides Him there is no other. He confirms over and over again that He is the One in full control of our lives. And He tells the nation of Judah, “Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old” (Isaiah 43:18 NKJV).

God was encouraging the people of Judah not to dwell on how they had to struggle in the past to become a nation. He's saying the same thing to us today. God doesn't want you dwelling on the past, because when you do, you'll find yourself still feeling some of the hurt, anger, and pain. We can appreciate the past. we can learn from it. But we can't stay stuck there. Isaiah 43:18 in the message translation of the Bible says, “Forget about what's happened; don't keep going over old history. Yeshua even says in Luke 9:62 that “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God.”

So, you've got to ask God to help you forge ahead. The past has got to be the past so God can shift you to the next phase of your journey. So often, we can get too comfortable and complacent, but there comes a time when you have to move toward that mix phase of your journey, whether it be from hourly employee to management, from traveling evangelists to a pastoral position, or from the single life to marriage and parenthood.

You have to be open for the next phase to get there. Your mind has to be prepared for it. You've got to motivate and position yourself for it. And you've got to know that there is something greater for you there. I don't know about anybody else, but I'm ready for the more of God. I don't want to be stuck, and I don't want to be stagnant. If He has a next place, I'm ready for it. We can't grieve forever about what was. It's time to move on. It's time to move forward. And if that's you today, I want you to know that your next begins NOW!

Your Goodness & Mercy Follows Me

“Surely Your Goodness and Unfailing Love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever” - Psalm 23:6 NLT

God, the perfect Shepherd and Host, promises to guide and protect us throughout our lives and to welcome us as special guests in His house-forever. God is rich in Mercy and He loves us. But when the Goodness and Loving-kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own Mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.

I will recount the steadfast Love of the LORD, the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD has granted us, and the great Goodness to the house of Israel that He has granted them according to His compassion, according to the abundance of His steadfast Love. God described Himself to Moses as “I Am that I Am”!(Exodus 6) THE LORD! THE GOD OF COMPASSION AND MERCY! I AM slow to anger and filled with unfailing Love and Faithfulness.

For the LORD is Good; His steadfast Love endures forever, and His Faithfulness to all generations. The steadfast Love of the LORD never ceases; His Mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your Faithfulness. Blessed be the God of all comfort. Each day we wake up God’s Mercy greets us. No other faith has a fresh outpouring of Grace each day.

Jeremiah knew from personal experience about God’s faithfulness. God has promised that punishment would follow disobedience, and it did. But God had also promised future restoration and blessing, and Jeremiah knew that God would keep that promise also. Because God is Faithful day by day, we can be confident that He will come through in His great promises for the future.

Throw yourself onto God’s unfailing Love, and He will not let you down.