Better

“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 l et it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”  James 1:2-4

When I went to college, I played a lot of basketball... and believe it or not, our team didn’t win every game.  As you would imagine, those losses hurt... but I remember an important truth that our coach shared with us.  He said that the wins were better for our reputation but the losses were better for our game.  Why?  Because we discovered what we needed to work on to become even better!

Sometimes in life, we have losses.  Setbacks.  Challenges that appear pointless.   Many of us look to Heaven... asking God that age old question... why?  The answer is simple...If we won all the time...if everything always worked...many would think they didn’t need God.  Failure reminds us that we can’t do it without Him... it teaches us lessons that develop our character... and as James 1 reminds us... it allows our faith and endurance to grow!  I challenge you... the next time you face a setback... see it as an opportunity to get stronger and better equipped for future success.

Ten and Two

When I was first starting to learn how to drive, I was nervous.  Hands at 10 and 2 o’clock… feet on the brakes… mirrors adjusted to the right position.  I studied the handbook and knew the proper following distances and sign shapes.  Yes… I was ready… but one thing kept me uneasy… the speed limit.  After all, how was I supposed to look down at the speedometer and up at the traffic at the same time?  What if I wasn’t looking down and started to go too fast… and got pulled over for speeding… or I was looking down to check my speed and rammed into the car in front of me?  I couldn’t keep my eyes on BOTH places at the same time… so what was I to do?

So many times in our walk with Christ we get nervous for the same reason.  I want to keep my eyes on Him… but what if something needs my attention in life?  What if I’m looking to Him for guidance and bump right into a crisis?  The Bible tells us that our eyes are to be in one position only:  Hebrews 12:2 says, “"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith ..."  Unlike driving,  we only have to look in one place to stay safe… and that’s facing God.   Life swerving?  Look and pray to God.  A bad diagnosis?  High tax bill?  Failing in school?  Look up.  Marriage trouble?  Losing your authority over your kids?  Don’t stare at the dashboard of your life trying to figure out your speed… look to the One that knows how to steer through the danger!   It’s when we take our eyes off of Christ and put them on our troubles… that the real trouble begins.   

No Magical Potion

An Ethiopian folk tale tells of a wife’s determination to save her marriage.  The story goes that a couple was having relationship trouble... so the wife goes to a judge and says she needs help.  The judge tells her that he has a magic medicine that will solve her problem.  However, the main ingredient is a hair from a lion’s tail.  Loving her husband, the desperate woman agrees and goes out to acquire the hair.  Day after day she stalks a lion waiting for her opportunity.  Finally, one day she snatches the hair and races back to the judge...eager for the tonic that will save her marriage.  The judge tells her... “that was a very brave thing you did... it took determination, patience, resolve, and courage.  There is no magical potion.  Instead of looking for the quick fix... demonstrate those same things in your relationship... and I promise it will get better.”

Marriage is wonderful.  But I have yet to see one that hasn’t required hard work, compromise, understanding, forgiveness, and honesty to thrive.  If you’re having trouble... don’t scour the bookstore or the internet for a shortcut.  Reinvest your time in what built your bond from the start.  As 1st Corinthians 13 tells us, love isn’t just a feeling... it’s a commitment.  And when energy is spent on reinforcing that commitment rather than regretting it... great things can happen.  

Agitation

Have you ever looked inside your washing machine and wondered how it gets clothes so clean? You might be surprised to know that it isn’t just the soap… or the hot water… it’s that column in the middle that usually has plastic fins that rotate all the way around. It’s called an agitator… and without one, your clothes would smell better but they wouldn’t be clean. During the wash cycle, this agitator forces the clothes to move around… from the bottom to the top of the water and back down… preventing laundry from just floating on the surface. This constant movement allows the soap and water to fully saturate the materials and clean the clothes.

Agitators in a washing machine make it work to it’s fullest potential. They do the same thing in our lives as well. Our agitators take many forms… those that bother us, those that are jealous of us, those that disagree with our decisions, or those that just plain rub us the wrong way. They agitate, irritate, instigate, and infuriate us to the point that we wonder why God allows them into our day-to-day. He does it because in dealing with them… we grow. James 1:3 tells us that testing produces endurance. Loving those that frustrate us builds character. Caring for those that don’t care for us allows us to be more like Christ. Anyone can be friendly to the friendly… but it’s when we extend grace to the agitators of life that we truly exhibit the character of the One who wants to see us grow through the process.