A devotional from Rachel Meguyer, Youth Pastor at Grainery Youth Group

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the test of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” – James 1:2-4

Tough times come for us all. The easy thing to say or even pray in these moments is for God to remove these things from our lives. I’ll confess that this is often the prayer of my heart in these situations. I often don’t want to deal with the pain a situation can bring and I tend to ask for things to be returned back to the way they were before it all started. I do believe God wants to restore some things back to normal but often God wants to bring us to the other side of these events, not only restored but also added to. We see Jesus accepting that this is God’s way all through the gospels.

Prayer

Lord, I want to be like Jesus in these times. I want to persevere so I too can become more mature and complete. Help me trust that you’re doing a good work in me. I want to become more and more like Christ with each passing day. Amen.