Barb's MS Journey
  • Barb's Home Page
  • Blog
  • Barb's Artwork
  • Comment Page
  • Early Poems
  • More...
    • Poems 1999
    • Poems 2005
    • Poems 2007
    • Poems 2008
    • Poems 2009
    • Music that Feeds the Soul
    • Videos That are Inspiring, Sweet or Just Plain Fun!

Lacking

7/17/2016

1 Comment

 
Picture
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.”
 
Most days I wake up and think, ugh, my body isn’t working properly, my mind isn’t working properly, and I need to make wise choices today. I feel that I lack a lot. But this quote from James 1 does not speak to that kind of lack, nor does it speak about physical “testing”, it speaks of Spiritual Testing, the Testing of our Faith.
 
Sometimes the testing of our faith comes from the fact that our bodies don’t work as they should or as we think they should. We may have asked God for healing, and it doesn’t come in the way we want or expect. When that happens, we are in the middle of a test of faith. Will God heal us? Does He want to? Can He? What’s the delay?
 
James 1:3 says that the testing of our faith produces perseverance. What would the opposite be? The testing of our faith produces whiny babies. Can we relate? Absolutely. We want what we want when and how we want it. When we don’t get what we want, it is so easy to whine about it and complain, and be afraid and lack trust, and perseverance is opposing our personal goal of getting what we want.
 
James goes on to explain that when perseverance does what it is supposed to do, we will be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
 
Our western minds think that not lacking anything means that we won’t have any physical, relational, emotional or financial deficit. A search of scripture will reveal that we really aren’t promised that at all. There are a few places where it looks like we may be blessed financially, but Jesus words, recorded in Matthew 6:19-21, put it this way: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
 
Our treasure is to be Him and His Kingdom, not stuff. Yes, God knows we need a place to lay our heads at night, food for our tummies, and clothing to keep us safe and warm. It does seem that more than that, He wants us to be mature and complete. He wants us to be able to stand for what we believe and live it out no matter the circumstance. We may not have a place to lay our head, we may not have food for our tummies, and we may not be clothed in the manner we desire. We still are who we are and whose we are. That doesn’t change. Everything else may change, but we are still children of the Lord Most High.
 
Our response to lack is what will grow our faith. I think I may have worded the scripture and encouragement in James 1 differently.  BarbTranslation, James 1:3-4: “If you lack everything, then you will grow up and realize you don’t need everything and then you will lack nothing. So get on with living! You are citizens of Heaven!”
 
Today, as you see what you lack, I am praying that you will be satisfied, and let perseverance do its work so you won’t lack a thing!
 

1 Comment
Katie
7/17/2016 10:46:38 am

Thank you, Barb, for another wise insight into Scripture and life. I liked the phrase "whiny babies" because it helped me remember what you learn as a parent - if you give a kid everything they want immediately, you get a spoiled brat. I had never thought of perseverance as the opposite of whiny and spoiled, but it actually is. To realize that you don't NEED everything is the key to not lacking. Thank you for your insight.

By the way, the only way to get from your Facebook link to Weebly is to click on "Barb Berens" then from your own page click on the Weebly link.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Barb Berens
     is a woman 
    who is learning who she is day by day 
    with the help of her Heavenly Father.

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    Barb's Bookstore
    Picture
    BARB'S ARTWORK
    It seems to fall into the category of Aleatoric Art. I just scribble &  it looks
    like something 
    to me, so
    I turn it into
    whatever I see.


    ​Aleatoricart posted this description in September 2011 (this is an elevated view in my opinion):

    "Aleatoric Art is the ultimate collaboration between
    man and the elements. Happenstance, randomness
    and a twist
    of fate’s unwilling wrist go in halfseys
    with some of the most outstanding visionaries
    the planet can boast in a peaceful
    yet often violent serendipity of
    creative cacophony
    to produce works of art that go far beyond those
    of mere mortals alone."

    Picture
    Picture
Powered by a personal relationship with God through faith in Jesus Chist
Photo used under Creative Commons from jackcast2015