“My bretheren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith creates patience.”

James 1:2 is a familiar scripture. But recently it took on new light for me during a study of the beginning passages of the opening chapter of that particular epistle. James addresses his brothers and sisters in the Lord, which by association includes those in the present-day church. Simply put, James is writing to us.

He encourages us to “count” something or “chalk up” something, if you will. When my children were learning to count in school, the teacher would have them use tally marks; four vertical ones and a fifth diagonally over the rest would count as five. In a sense, James is encouraging us to chalk up with the proverbial spiritual tally marks those times when we get tested. More about that later.

To what are we to chalk up these trying experiences? To joy. We know that true joy comes when we are walking with Jesus according to his father’s word, the Bible. We also know that the joy of the Lord is our strength. So, it follows then that when we go through a trying experience, instead of expressing frustration we ought to chalk up these trying experience to strengthening or an exercise of our faith. That’s easier said than done, I know. But in a very real sense, we are getting a spiritual workout when we endure trials. Our faith muscles are being worked out and strengthened.

What sort of trials are we talking about? We all know about the big ones; a death in the family, a less than positive medical diagnosis, a difficult work environment. The list goes on. But faith tests even happen when we get caught driving behind that little old lady traveling eight miles an hour in a 45-mph zone. You’ve been there, right? Or how about when we are in a hurry and we line up in the 20 items or less express lane and the person in front of you has 21 items and the cashier calls for a price check on the third item. You’ve been there too, haven’t you? I heard an evangelist once call those experiences as “spiritual lice.”

When we’re going through these “little tests” of our faith they seem as enormous as the others I just mentioned. But what if we began viewing those times behind that little old lady and those times in the express lane as mini faith workouts? James 1:3 makes it very clear what will happen when we have that approach. Those tests, all tests, will help develop patience. We will become slow to speak, slow to anger and quick to listen, won’t we?

So, the next time you have to deal with an ignorant boss or have to change a flat tire on the way to your child’s concert or any other “spiritual lice,” take a deep breath, say a little prayer and relax. Realize that you’re getting a faith workout. It will all be over soon and you’ll be stronger for it.

-Ben Hanneman

A Life of Worship...

Deut. 10.12 “Now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,” 13 “and to keep the LORD’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?”

I think we should ask ourselves what sits on the throne of our heart. This time in which we live is indeed exciting. We are seeing the fulfillment of scripture before our very eyes. But, are we really seeking His kingdom first, though? Am I submitting my life to His purpose and plan? Am I really living a life of worship? I must say that I still struggle in areas of my life when it comes to submission to His plan. I still forget sometimes that it is His timing, His plan. I would seek sometimes to push things along, if you will, maybe before I am ready, out of step with His timing for my life.

I believe it can be traced back to our worship. A life of worship will place us in step with what He is doing, where He is taking us. Let me explain why. Our worship of Him is relational. A life of worship of the Father will mean we are in relationship with the Father. I love what Pastor Hal has preached about God's sovereignty and might. It is impossible for me to know God exhaustively, but we can know Him relationally. That is an amazing truth when you really think of it. I have a relationship with my wife and children. It is very hard to imagine that I could ever have an exhaustive knowledge of them in this life. Now imagine God and our finite understanding. Scripture even says that we see as through a mirror darkly…

Now imagine that I studied the “exhaustive” biography of Dana Farmer to gain knowledge of who she is, but never met her personally. I might know many things about her, but I would never know her the way I do having spent seven years in a relationship with her. Our worship is relational. A life of worship submits to the words of the Father, to the Son who is the Word made Flesh, to His Spirit- walks with Him. He has revealed His nature and character to us in His word, and sees us through every aspect (Philippians 1.6).

William Temple was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1942- 1944. This is how he describes worship:

It is submission of all our nature to God-

It is quickening of conscience by His holiness, nourishment of mind by His truth, purifying of imagination by his beauty, opening of the heart to his love, submission of will to His purpose. All of this gathered up in adoration is the greatest expression of which we are capable.

That is the way I want to worship Him.

-Chris Farmer