When Life Throws You Lemons

Do you ever have one of those days or weeks where it seems like one thing after the other goes wrong and your patience gets a good workout?

Being overseas recently, I found myself in an unusual situation. My mobile had zero signal and, being somewhere without wifi, I was faced with the stark reality of how much I relied on this little device for contact with the outside world. At the same time, the electric trip in the house where I was staying kept malfunctioning, affecting some of the lights and turning off the heating system.

After my initial reaction of frustration, not least as I have a very sick family member and need to be contactable, I decided to turn to the Lord and see it as an opportunity to grow. I began thinking about how much more time I would have to spend with the Lord, being void of the technological distractions which can be all-absorbing at times. I wondered even about the Lord allowing it to get my attention to ‘plug’ into Him instead!

Considering what I was going through as ‘pure joy’, as it states in James 1, wasn’t my initial response, but interestingly we are told to ‘consider’ or ‘view’ what we are going through as pure joy because the testing of our faith produces perseverance. The word ‘consider’ is translated from the Greek ‘Hégeomai’ meaning ‘to regard, to think and to lead the way’. So, the Greek word encourages us to ‘lead the way with pure joy’ in the midst of our trials, setting an example for others to follow.

I love how it continues in verse 4. ‘Let perseverance finish its work’ as in doing so, we would become mature and made complete, lacking nothing. It is interesting to note that James equates trials with the testing of our faith leading to perseverance, which matures and completes us. The meaning of perseverance is to keep doing something till the end, even if it is difficult or takes a long time. Perseverance is translated from the Greek word ‘Hupomoné’ meaning ‘patient endurance’, conveying the idea of remaining faithful and patient under pressure, despite challenges.

Whatever you are walking through, I want to encourage you to choose joy in the midst of whatever trials you are facing. Nehemiah 8:10 says, ‘The joy of the Lord is my strength’. The Hebrew word for joy in this verse is ‘Chedvah’ meaning a deep, abiding sense of joy and gladness rooted in one’s relationship with God. We can have joy even in the midst of grief as it is rooted in our relationship with the Lord and not in circumstances which can change from one day to the next.