"Consider It Pure JOY!"

Have you had your JOY JUICE today?   Drinking it every day will remind you to react with kindness.

            Until we find ourselves in a pressured situation, we really can’t know the depth of our character. It’s easy to be kind to others when everything in our life is going smoothly.  But what about when you are being treated unfairly?  Or when someone you trusted betrays you?  Maybe it’s one of your children who has been hurt or your spouse gets overlooked for a promotion at work.  Even in the church there are occasions when people say or do things that we don’t agree with.  Do you always respond with kindness?   Impossible you say? Yes, without God.

            God wants us to grow spiritually and He uses these kinds of opportunities to teach us and develop those Godly principles which lead to the fruit of the Spirit.  So instead of complaining about our struggles, let’s thank God for being with us through them.  We are to earnestly seek His wisdom. 

            I never tire of reading the verses in James 1 that tell us:

            “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.  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.”

            We can depend on God to fill us with His wisdom so that we can react to those tough situations with kindness because… the JOY of the Lord is our strength!