This is a brief excerpt from a series at Pathways Church on truths from the book of James (from back in Oct 2008).
- TRIAL: I sat on the porch watching my 3 little kids playing in the street realizing that I would/could very well lose everything; a lawsuit that threatened to cause me to lose everything–KEY: No matter how much you have prepared; no matter how much you have planned for every situation; no matter what you say and do; no matter how much control you think that you have–you will be hit in life with things that are unfair and out of your control and yes, even devastating.
- TEMPTATION: The night before Thanksgiving I lost sight of God. I doubted His love, His presence.
- THANKFULNESS: Thanksgiving day came and although I was not that thankful, I chose to be thankful and list and look for thankful moments “…consider it all joy…”-James 1:1 Later on James mentions a ‘crown of life’. My pastor friend, Bucky, shared with me that maybe we have misunderstood the ‘crown of life’ to be a crown we receive after we die. Maybe this is a crown that we wear now on this side of heaven in the kingdom of God that is NOW HERE! Maybe the trials we go through give us the eyes to see LIFE as God wants us to see LIFE as a GIFT!
Please enjoy my short audio about my “trial” and what it has taught me about thankfulness. And as always please leave a comment!
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