# 4 on the Top 10 List of scripture
James 1:2-5 (nlt)
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.
Trouble. Patience. Wisdom. All things we need and have to deal with.
For years I have added James 1:5 to the letters and notes I send to folks via snail mail or e-mail, and I guess you could call that my life verse. Real wisdom comes from God. Everything comes from God, and when we try to do things on our own, we are empty without anything that even looks like joy around us.
The first three verses of this TOP 10 entry are ones I memorized as a teenager and have used for now more than 20 years to understand life and God. Trials and trouble are a fact of life. How we deal with them dictates lots about life. By the way, I always need good perspective on this.
How in the world can you have joy when you are going through a tough time? Well, the fact is that joy is something that ought to be constant in our lives. Happiness comes and goes, yet joy shows that a person is content which is a huge deal in life. To get through the rocky times, we need to be content with many, many things. For the Christian, contentment has everything to do with faith and trusting God.
Where does patience come on the scene? It comes in because with contention comes joy about life and comes the ability to get through or endure. That's patience. That's huge.
Where does wisdom come on the scene? With godly wisdom comes godly character. With godly character comes contentment and joy. Check it out. Experience it. Believe what God can and will do.
Finally, the first verse is a command, "have joy when trouble comes." The last verse is a free offer, "ask God when you need wisdom." Like peas and carrots, joy and wisdom go together. We need them both, and oh how much better life is when we find that we have joy and are wise! It makes a difference in our lives and in the lives of others.
Habakkuk 3:18-19 (nlt) --- yet I will rejoice in the L ord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.
James 1:2-5 (nlt)
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.
Trouble. Patience. Wisdom. All things we need and have to deal with.
For years I have added James 1:5 to the letters and notes I send to folks via snail mail or e-mail, and I guess you could call that my life verse. Real wisdom comes from God. Everything comes from God, and when we try to do things on our own, we are empty without anything that even looks like joy around us.
The first three verses of this TOP 10 entry are ones I memorized as a teenager and have used for now more than 20 years to understand life and God. Trials and trouble are a fact of life. How we deal with them dictates lots about life. By the way, I always need good perspective on this.
How in the world can you have joy when you are going through a tough time? Well, the fact is that joy is something that ought to be constant in our lives. Happiness comes and goes, yet joy shows that a person is content which is a huge deal in life. To get through the rocky times, we need to be content with many, many things. For the Christian, contentment has everything to do with faith and trusting God.
Where does patience come on the scene? It comes in because with contention comes joy about life and comes the ability to get through or endure. That's patience. That's huge.
Where does wisdom come on the scene? With godly wisdom comes godly character. With godly character comes contentment and joy. Check it out. Experience it. Believe what God can and will do.
Finally, the first verse is a command, "have joy when trouble comes." The last verse is a free offer, "ask God when you need wisdom." Like peas and carrots, joy and wisdom go together. We need them both, and oh how much better life is when we find that we have joy and are wise! It makes a difference in our lives and in the lives of others.
Habakkuk 3:18-19 (nlt) --- yet I will rejoice in the L ord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.
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