By David ReayWednesday 22 Nov 2017LifeWords DevotionalsFaithReading Time: 0 minutes
Transcript:
Read James 5:11
11 As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. (NIV)
Imagine a person who keeps doing a tedious and uncomfortable job for many years. We may honour that individual’s perseverance. Because we know perseverance is a good thing, much applauded in the Bible. That person has not given up, not succumbed to the temptation to find greener grass elsewhere.
Then again, we might question that person’s lack of initiative. Might they be sticking at that situation because they are fearful of change? Might not God be inviting them to new things which they are rejecting out of fear-laded complacency? Is their perseverance more like stubbornness?
It is not easy to distinguish between the two. Between faithful endurance and fear-based doggedness. There is a time to stick at what we are doing, a time to stay with a certain church, a time to persevere in a ministry. There is also time to change what we are doing, to shift churches, to bring a ministry to an end.
Our lives have their seasons. And it is in the nature of seasons that they involve change. We need the wisdom of God to know when to stay and when to go. To know when a season is to be endured or when a season is to be left behind.
Blessings
David Reay