Commitment

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” ~ James 1:2-4

I just got back from being a leader for a One Now weekend, where I had the opportunity to lead a group of 9th grade girls in their series on being committed. The above verse was this year’s theme verse. This verse really stopped me this weekend and had me thinking of the different times I have been faced with trails, when my faith was tested, and how I handled those situations. When you try to come up with something hard you have faced on the spot to talk about it can be rough and sometimes your mind draws a blank. This is exactly what happened to me.

Most of the time, I tend to brush a lot of the hard times or rough things I am going through off and forget about them, rather than taking the time to think and reflect on those times to see what I should do differently next time. There are probably many reasons something like this has happened and it could relate back to the amount of knowledge I have in that particular situation and how a lot of times I feel as if I can handle everything by myself.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.” ~ James 1:5-8

This passage really convicts me of how I handle things sometimes. There is a major difference in asking a friends advice and asking Gods advice. Asking a friend is like taking a survey, you can ask as many people as you want and get a common answer and some of the times it will be the right choice, but when you ask God, he is the only person you need to ask. He will always provide you with a right answer, but just like verse 6 said, “…when he asks, he must believe and not doubt…” This is the hard part for most people. They are open to hearing what people have to say but when it comes down to it they are afraid to commit to God and know that in the end it will all work out as He has planned.

I challenge you to stay committed to God, even when he does place challenges in your life. It’s all a part of showing your faith and your commitment to God. Those challenges, if followed through properly with God’s help, will build your relationship closer to God and your faith will become stronger!