Steadfast
James 1:2-3 (ESV) 2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
If you look up the word steadfastness, it means “firmly fixed in place, immovable, determined.” In other words, when someone is steadfast, they will not run, they will hide, they will not coward, and they will not turn away. They are firmly planted and ready to withstand whatever may come.
In James 1:2-3, Yahweh instructs us that we WILL meet various trials and to allow them to eventually produce steadfastness in our hearts. Too often, we get this process backwards and believe we must be steadfast first, and then we can face those trials. But see, Yahweh does not want a man-made type of determination, but one that He molds and fashions.
The other day, while talking with a friend, he shared how difficult his current season was as he was having to make some challenging decisions. He asked, “Why was it so hard?” “Why him?” and “Why now?” In my time of encouraging him, Holy Spirit reminded me of James 1:2-3, and I challenged him to count it all joy. The season was not there to punish him but to work in him. The trial needed to uncover those fractured spots in his life in order to remove them. Therefore, a new foundation can be laid in him, one that is steadfast.
So, as you start your day, consider: do you have some fractured spots in your foundation? Do you have a crack in your faith? Consider the season you are in; are you facing some challenges, some ordeals? Count it all joy, for those do not come to destroy you but to change you. Yahweh will use those moments to work in you and establish a new foundation. He is making you steadfast; let Him do His work!