Lord, Help Me to Become Mature In You James Day Five

James 1:2-4

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Perseverance is a tough word to swallow because we cannot have perseverance without trials. Did you notice that pesky little ‘s’ at the end? We all know adding an ‘s’ to the end of the word trial makes it plural. That ‘s’ can mean two, twenty, two hundred, two thousand, or any number in between! That can be overwhelming to think of if we are not working toward the goal of spiritual maturity and being complete in Him.

I am a detailed, let’s solve this problem, kind of girl. So, perseverance is not something that appeals to me. I want to get a job done or a situation solved and dust my hands off in order to move on quickly. As a result, I do not pay attention to what I am supposed to be learning. I think that is why I sometimes face the same trial more than once! (It may be in part due to my stubborn streak as well!) No matter the reason, we have to put in the time to truly develop perseverance.

We cannot truly know who we are and our level of maturity until we are plopped down in the middle of a trial. I was raised to be very competitive. That coupled with the personality I described above makes for a dangerous mix. In short, I have not handled trials very well in my past. However, through the blood of Jesus Christ, I do not have to live in my past or be condemned to repeat it. God is all about grace and mercy and I am working toward letting Him show me both in ways I do not deserve but desperately crave.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I desperately want to develop into the mature believer You have called me to be. Please help me to face trials with the maturity and confidence You would have me to and to learn to persevere through any storm that comes my way. Help me to develop the kind of perseverance that makes people stop and notice that it was only possible through You and Your work in my life.

Deeper Dive: What do you let get in your way of developing perseverance and becoming mature in Jesus Christ? How does your personality and upbringing work against your progress? I challenge you to identify what is holding you back and develop a strategy to overcome it. In day two of this series I outlined my plan if you need help getting started.