Hang in there!

James 1:2-4 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. NIV

We read in this that growth and maturity come through times of trials and testing. How does this maturity happen? A desert father wrote: “Adversities do not make you miserable, but they disclose to you and teach you what you were already.” Guigo I; Meditations.

The times of struggle are times when God just might be revealing to you what is in your heart. We will begin to realize that we are not as strong in faith as we thought we were. God is showing us how much we need to depend upon Him.

In the midst of this time of struggle we begin to see the truth of who we are and what God offers us, yet it is still difficult to completely trust in God. “There is usually a good span of time between our first awakening and complete faith. During such days we pray the same prayer the sick boy’s father prayed: ‘I do believe. Help me overcome my unbelief.’ In other words, this prayer means, ‘I am no longer in darkness. My soul has seen Your light. But I am not yet able to believe completely. The light is dim. Lord, help me.’” Francis DeSales; Living in Love.

This is the place where perseverance comes into play. Will I keep going and keep trusting God or will I give up? God takes us like a bow that He stretches, and at a certain point we say, “I can’t stand this anymore.” But God does not heed. He goes on stretching because He is aiming at His mark, not ours – we must hang on until God lets the arrow fly. Then we will discover the target that God has placed in front of us. At this point we begin to discover the power of trusting God and allowing Him to walk us through the struggle.

Let me leave you with a couple of thoughts from the desert fathers who have walked in this path of hardship:

The best source of help is the one that most exercises our faith, puts to shame human wisdom, makes us simple and humble and undeceives us in respect to our own wisdom.” Francis Fenelon; the Best of Fenelon.

“When you suffer in any way, whether through fear, anger, hatred, or any kind of grief, you should only blame yourself for it – your craving, ignorance and laziness…Your injury and grief bear witness to your sin, for by abandoning God you have plainly fallen in love with something that can harm you.” Guigo I; Meditations.