One Needful Thing

Have you ever heard someone say, "Don't pray for patience or God will send you trials!" For a while, I was afraid to do just that because I didn't want to go through hardships, but then I realized that hard times are going to come anyway, so why not pray for the patience to endure them? The book of James is full of treasures for us to claim, and in chapter one he starts off with advice for trials. "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." (James 1:2-4) One thing we can be sure about trials is they are always working something in us. What that something is, though, is entirely up to us. We can allow the trial to let anger, fear, frustration, bitterness, and resentment become a part of our lives, or we can allow God to use the trial to instill in us a depth of character and...

Paul is my hero of the faith! He started out as a man who persecuted Christians by murdering and imprisoning them, but his life took a complete turn when he chose to follow Christ. As I was reading his book of Philippians recently, I was reminded that he had practically nothing of physical value in this life. The Bible doesn't mention his family, he had practically no possessions, and in his later years he spent much time in prison. For a man who had nothing, the things he did have I assume would have been extremely important to him. Things like friendships, status in life, and health. Although he was able to make many friends of the faith, his status in the later years of his life was that of a prisoner. The Bible also talks about Paul having a "thorn in the flesh" (2 Corinthians 12:7) which many believe to be a health issue he struggled with. Whether it was a struggle with health, or another type of battle he faced, we can be sure that it was a trial he endure...