Weekly Devotion - March 30, 2012

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance."

James 1:2-3 NIV

How's today going for you? When I left the house this morning the sky was half clear and half stormy clouds. Not partly cloudy. A front was passing through and literally half the sky was light and half dark. My first thought was, "Which is it going to be today?"

Does it matter? The weather might affect whether you work outside or indoors, or whether you go fishing or not. But the weather shouldn't affect whether or not you have joy today.

Circumstances are not always pleasant. Life's hard and sometimes it hurts. What you anchor your life too makes a difference in how you react and respond to those changing circumstances.

If you anchor your life to the weather forecast you'll have bright days but you'll also have rainouts.

If you anchor your life to a prognosis you'll have days of optimism but you will also have days of hopelessness.

If you anchor your life to a job interview you will have days filled with opportunity and days filled with disappointment.

Your days are sure to be either up or down, good or bad, bright or rainy. That's life. But your joy isn't tied to that. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit - a character quality that grows in your life as you cultivate your relationship with Jesus. And that can be a constant in your life even when everything else is uncontrollably fluid.

Even the many kinds of trials you face are the seedbed for joy because they give you opportunity to lean on Jesus and learn more about him as you persevere. Pray that God will help you grow joy among the ups and downs of life.