"Inward Nature"

Life is difficult at times. There are disappointments, heartaches and struggles that sometime can seem overwhelming. When we are faced with one of these times in our lives, it should remind us the cost of sin in this world. That should take us to reaching to our heavenly Father.

Our walk with the Lord isn't about just saying we believe in Him. It is an inward nature that knows and reaches. Let's listen carefully: "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance." (Jam. 1:2-3) We have read this but what we need is to look carefully at this because of life's disappointments and struggles. When we encounter various trials, there is something suppose to be happening in us, within our heart. What is it? An attitude of knowing what God is doing when you hurt by taking on a right attitude. "Consider it all joy" is an internal attitude of the heart. How can we take such attitudes? Because the difficulty is going to be to your spiritual benefit. It will help your faith and endurance. Those are the two things needed in order to make it to the end. If anyone is going to be saved, it will be because of our trust (faith) in the Lord and enduring the hardship with a proper attitude. It is easy to feel sorry for yourself when you hurt but that's not the right move. It's easy to withdraw into self pity and avoidance of people because we hurt but that's not the right move. The real, inward nature of Christianity is when we encounter difficult situations, there is something suppose to be going on in the heart that reaches to the presence of God and that's our trust and attitude.

I will never make light of someones struggles. What I will do is direct them to the source of real comfort and strength. Once we can see what God is doing, we have a choice to make within our being: Are we going to count things as all misery or all joy? It depends on what is happening on your spiritual side!