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 in anything. James 1:2-4
When I was a young girl, I was an innocent bystander to the guilt and shame church people misconstrued from scripture. My eyes were wide open to anything stated within the spiritual/church world therefore I will never forget the twist of this verse that caused tremendous shame in me.
This verse was pushed, coerced, guilted that we needed to be happy and joyous in all circumstances. I remember a church member who lost her husband and the only words that she expressed was, “Praise the Lord.” This caused confusion in me as I thought we should be sad when someone died. There was no room for sadness and even anger when life went south. I am convinced that this mentality pushed me even further into silence of the abuse within my home.
If times were tough, we were taught to smile and say “Praise the Lord” leaving anyone who was hurting feeling the weight of their “godly” shame. Hurt was hurt and there was nothing joyous about it. But no one cared about that.
Interestingly, though, it has become noticeably clear to me that our fake attempt at joy totally misses what this verse is honestly saying.
There is NO guilt push of joy in this verse, but instead, there is a strong attempt communicating perseverance. Perseverance has a name that is much more important than Joy. Our joy comes as a byproduct of the perseverance we are GROWING into.
Webster defines it as a “continued effort.” Joy is simply an emotion the writer of James was communicating we will have when we learn to persevere. Perseverance is to take center stage, not joy! God did not call me to joy…He called me to perseverance!
I love what it says in verse four…
Let perseverance finish its work…
Joy cannot finish the work, but perseverance can. If we allow the trials in our lives to run its course while we persevere and seek God, we will become mature and complete. We will lack NOTHING making joy a part of the final equation, not the full equation.
I am currently writing a book. Yes, a book! I have over 40,000 words written stored in my computer with more writing ahead of me. I never thought I would write a book, so game on! I even have a contract with a publishing company that is ready to edit and print once I finish my manuscript. Now, don’t be impressed when I say publishing company because you can do anything for the right price.
The writing of this book and, truthfully, this blog has been solely an act of obedience for me. I have always loved to write but typically those writings have been for my eyes only. Writing connects me to God and gives me peace on my own life journey. But I had never thought of sharing it with others. Through the prompting of friends in my life and my own journey with God, I felt a nudging to share what I write in obedience to Him.
As you have read and listened to this blog over the past 9 months, you are listening to my obedience to God while here on this earth. Therefore, a book is a part of this obedience.
What is the title of the book? Well, that is a work in progress. I love to write, but titles are not my forte!
I currently have…” Walk Like a Girl…your journey to God’s story within you.” I think it sounds pretty cool, but it doesn’t really tell you what the book is about. It also narrows my audience down to women which I have been told often lately that I need to allow men into my writing world. Any suggestions would be appreciated! But first, let me tell you what the book is about.
If you know me, I have a love for the Old Testament. Other than the big stories written in the Old Testament like Noah and Moses and Goliath, the Old Testament is often set aside because of lack of understanding. Yes, it is filled with countless commandments. We think of the big 10, but in reality, there are 613 commandments from Genesis through Deuteronomy. We get bogged down within the details of these words therefore move on to the New Testament for inspiration. But are you aware why there are 613 detailed commandments in the Old Testament?
Let me paint you a picture that you might relate to. What if you had 10 children? Well, for one, we would pray for you! Imagine having these 10 children but no restrictions. No set bedtime; no restrictions on showering or bathing; no guidelines on eating. Just think of what that would look like. Or don’t think of it because the stress it would cause you.
This is the same type of situation for the 613 commandments that we skim over when we read the Old Testament. It’s okay to skim because most of them do not relate to us today.
When God created the world, He created man and woman. As we know, man and woman blew it inviting sin into our world. Once sin was introduced, the world of peace and tranquility became a world of chaos. This chaos ultimately ended up with the destruction by way of flood and a “do over” for mankind. Unfortunately, the “do over” was left up to mankind’s response which we blew again and again. So, God pulled out His “white board” and began to write. He wrote and wrote and wrote until there were 613 documented guidelines on how these people needed to live. Up to this point, it was simply a chaotic world. These commandments shored the people up a bit and allowed some order in their lives. Just how we do for our own children.
So, back to what the book is about…it is a walk through the Old Testament while gleaning some practical lessons that are taught to us as we walk through our current world. The Old Testament is so incredibly practical, but often overlooked.
Here is an excerpt from my book intro…
“What if we could pick up the Bible and see His story written within us?
What if we could see God’s movement? Hear God’s voice?
What if these pages moved beyond stories and became the lesson we need this very day?
I believe that is what this book is. This is not a verse-by-verse study, but a book that will walk you through the Old Testament gleaning from the stories of people just like you and me. A book that will allow you to feel the dirt between your toes as you walk the roads of Canaan; a book that will take you through the heartfelt loss as Adam and Eve were kicked out of paradise; a book that will allow you to sit in the quiet of an unformed universe. Practical lessons for today taken from a book written centuries ago. I don’t think you will want to miss this journey!
As I began to study the Old Testament, I was amazed not just at the stories but at God’s voice speaking through these stories. I was amazed at how practical the Old Testament was to my life and how learning His story impacted MY story.
The Old Testament answers questions like…
“Why is there sin?”
“Why does heart ache continue in our current world?
“Why did Jesus die?
The Old Testament is the foundation for what we believe today. It is more than the 10 commandments taken from the book of Exodus. It is filled with stories of people…people with names, with emotions, with heartache, with laughter.
I believe that if we could sit beside them today, they would shed tears as we told them our story. Eve’s heart would break as she related to our story of feeling abandoned by God. Noah would understand when we told him that God has asked us to do something beyond us. Sarah would weep when we told her that our womb was barren. As our hearts pour out to them, they would assure us that the journey toward God is worth every step.
So, walk with me as we listen to their to their voices!”
So, what I would like to do is to have a “Summer Series” teaching you about some of the voices in the Old Testament…a walk with the Patriarchs!
Join me over the next few weeks as we journey with the Patriarchs! Let’s learn the significance of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. How does the story of Joseph take us to the movement of Moses? These are some fun connections that I think you will enjoy!
“God, where are You? Our world is out of control. Our nation is out of control. I need You to show me You. I need something to know that You are still in control. Our world is not only sick physically in this pandemic, but we are also sick within our hearts. Brother attacking brother; sister attacking sister; family attacking family. Nations attacking nations. But now our own nation is attacking itself.
“But Moses told the people, ‘Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.”
As the day’s past, Maria and her family traveled with over a million other Israelites escaping the slavery in Egypt. This was not an easy journey as they felt exhaustion with each passing day. There was arguing amongst the nations of Israel, but God had put their leader, a man named Moses, in front to guide them through this journey. Every day was filled with dust from the desert floor and turmoil in their hearts. Day after day, moment after moment the Israelites questioned their pursuit of freedom.
You know…the wet salty substance that forms in your eyes. Have you ever thought about why pain produces water in your eyes? Why does pain from our hearts flow like water? Could it be that God is aware that our hearts could not contain the vast amount of pain we would experience in this world? So He provided a way for broken hearts to find relief…tears. Once that pressure valve gets activated, the tears start flowing. These tears then cascade down our cheeks with unyielding demand.
One day as I was cleaning the kitchen, the ringer on my phone went off. I looked down and saw a message from a friend.
“Can you talk?”
“Sure, what’s up?”
The next text from her read, “Can we meet somewhere?”
Do you remember playing hide and seek when you were a child? Or maybe you play it with your children?
When I was a kid, I have vivid memories of playing hide and seek while at church. Yes, at church!
I grew up as preacher’s kid…P.K. as some would call it and when you grow up as a preacher’s kid, you spend countless hours at the church building waiting on your parents who are typically in meetings with other parents. As we got bored as kids, we would find something to do in our boredom that would not get us in too much trouble. Often, the game of hide and seek became the game of choice. Like the typical game of hide and seek, someone would count while the others would hide. I hated being the “seeker”, the one who counted because I was much better at hiding. I had plenty of practice, so I knew all the best hiding places. But there was one particular church that my dad pastored that had an amazing place to hide. It was a hidden storage space located behind the choir loft. There was a set of stairs in behind the auditorium that most people did not know where they led. But I did! They led to a secret attic with one of the best places to hide and some other creepy things that the church felt they needed to keep.
One, two, three…the “seeker” would start counting and off the rest of us would go. We would scatter fast. I would pretend that I was heading a certain direction, but once the coast was clear I would take off to the secret hiding place…behind the choir loft.
THE WALK 