SHIFT WEEK 5 THURSDAY Pastor Chris

THURSDAY

Scripture Reading: James 1:2-5,12-18

The sweet, is never as sweet without the sour.

While Jesus Christ died on the cross to deliver us from the bondage of our personal sins, this does not mean that we are permanently immune from temptations, trials or the sins of others. Though we may have been personally freed from the disease of sin, the disease is still ever-present in our world and is something that we must be on guard against.

I’m sure we have all, at one point in our life, pondered this question: “Why did this bad thing have to happen to _______(Fill in the blank: me, my spouse, my child, my mom, my friend, my co-worker, my country, etc...).” In the midst of our struggle to understand why this bad thing occurred, we can either choose to call upon God who has already delivered us from our sins or we can choose to ride the storms of our trials and temptations on our own.

While it sounds baffling to consider our trials and temptation as a joy, God’s promise to us is that he will be there by our side to help us endure the evils and hardships that we endure in our lives. We should continue to turn to God in prayer and worship God enthusiatically in the midst of suffering, because it is only through our total reliance upon God that we can endure all things. After all, if a doctor cured you from your sickness and ailing, wouldn’t you fully rely upon that doctors in all other matters pertaining to this ailment?

Likewise we need to rely upon God in all times, good and bad, because God is our healer, encourager, and giver of life.