Quote from Forum Archives on June 8, 2000, 9:09 am

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

Here is a message from yet another person who has come to
understand what the apostle James means by "count it all joy..."
Ever since I first heard a song by Bebe and Cece Winnans called
"Count It All Joy", and I thought seriously about the passage in
James 1:2-4, and what it really means to me, I have learned what
it means to rejoice. I now think about what the apostle Paul
wrote in Philippians 4:4, and the additional advice he gave the
Philippian church in that letter. Verse four says, "Rejoice in
the LORD always, I will say it again: REJOICE!"

You have to understand where Paul was "hanging out" when he wrote
those words. The Acts of the Apostles (the book of Acts, written
by Luke, the doctor and close follower of the apostles) indicates
that Paul was in PRISON when he wrote those words. I don't think
he was nuts, I think he and James learned the same thing - it is
what I have discovered as well. I think what we have learned has
come, not from our own wisdom, but from the true wisdom that can
only be revealed by God Himself, through His Holy Spirit.

Read what today's devotional writer has to say, and see if it
makes a similar connection - I think it does.

Brother Brian

PCCWeb Daily

Wednesday, June 7, 2000

Today's Devotional

Some Hard Times

James 1:2-3 - Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you
face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of
your faith develops perseverance. (NIV)

My wife and I have looked back on our lives and we have seen that
we have not faced many hard times before. We are expecting our
second child and we are very happy about this. But a test we had
taken showed that the baby's kidneys were apparently not working
correctly. In addition there was some concern about the baby's
growth. We had the test done again and the same results came
back. We were pretty saddened and shaken by this news.

I never quite understood why one should find joy in a trial one
is facing, as today's scripture advises. Here I was thinking
about my unborn baby maybe having some problems -- and I should
find joy in this?

It was strange -- I did find a joy, because for me to get through
this ordeal I had to give it completely to God. I knew that no
matter the outcome, God was there for my wife and me. No matter
what happened we would experience God's love. No matter what, we
would love this child and care for him.

We went to a specialist and the test they did showed that there
were no problems with our baby. This was great news for us. When
I was told this I almost cried. I felt the joy of my trial that
came to an end. In that end it was God who took care of us.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, sometimes it is hard to see joy in our
hardships. During these times may we remain focused on you. May
we not feel anger toward you for what may be happening, but
instead may we find joy in knowing you are with us. In Jesus'
name. Amen.

Michael Steckel steckel@uspacenet.com Fairbanks,
Alaska, USA

The PCCWeb Daily Devotional on the Internet If your
e-mail reader doesn't show links, the PrayerLine,
Subscription and Feedback features on this page are
all accessible through www.presbycan.ca/daily.

The volunteer PCCWeb Daily Editorial Staff
Subscriptions and Feedback: Jane Anne Waller
<daily@presbycan.ca>, Burlington, Ontario
Devotionals: James T. Hurd <jthurd@nb.sympatico.ca>,
Woodstock, New Brunswick Technical and Oversight:
Robin Ross <rross@rapidnet.net>, Mission, British
Columbia

=====
--
Brian Masinick, "The Mas", mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/
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