“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience” (James 1:2-3).
I admit, it’s tough to be enthusiastic about going through tests and trials. But can you get excited about being totally supplied in every way, in want of nothing? Well according to the Word of God, if you’ll use your trials to develop patience, that’s precisely the position you’re going to be in!
You see, patience doesn’t mean what you thought it meant. It does not mean settling sweetly for second best. It does not mean standing meekly by while the devil romps all over you.
No, patience is a powerful word. The New Testament meaning of it as translated literally from the Greek is “to be consistently constant or to be the same way all the time, regardless of what happens.”
To understand how much power is involved in that, you have to realize that it’s one of the most outstanding attributes of God Himself. The Bible says He’s the same yesterday, today and forever.
Think about that for a minute. The guy who absolutely cannot be changed by anyone or anything is an extremely powerful fellow, wouldn’t you say? Obviously, God has that much power.
But, you know what? You do, too!
By the power of the Holy Spirit working within you, you can be the same every day no matter what happens. If you’ll put your trust in the Word of God and let patience go to work, it won’t matter what happens. You won’t ever have to accept anything less than victory again.
Now that’s something to get excited about.
Scripture Reading: 2 Timothy 3:10-17
Excerpt permission granted by
Eagle Mountain International Church, Inc.
aka: Kenneth Copeland Ministries
For the last 50 years Kenneth and Gloria Copeland have been passionately teaching Christians all over the world how to apply the principles of faith found in God's WORD to their lives.
They have seven ministry offices around the world: United States, Canada, Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Ukraine and Latin America. Their God-given directive is to preach and teach the uncompromised WORD of God on every available voice, which is being accomplished through a variety of channels, including our Believer's Voice of Victory TV and radio broadcasts, podcast and magazine; Believers' Conventions, Victory Campaigns and Living Victory meetings; published books, website, and social media channels, to name a few.
With the expansion of technology, they have more work to do now than ever. They are determined to let the world know Jesus is LORD, and they are not slowing down anytime soon!