T-R-O-U-B-L-E

Woman suffering from stress grimacing in painI’ve met TROUBLE more than once. In fact, it seems like he/she comes around way too often. I didn’t refer to trouble as “it”, because more often than not, I connect “trouble” to a person. Trouble means “to disturb the mental calm and contentment; worry, distress, agitate, inconvenience, discomfort or disorder”.  I don’t usually go looking for trouble – it usually finds me. I remember a song by Travis Tritt, released in 1992.  In the song, “Trouble” was a beautiful woman in a dance hall. I think trouble comes in multiple forms, shapes and sizes. I read something in James that made me stop and think about how I view TROUBLE. Check this out…

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. (James 1:2-4 NLT)

I have never really viewed TROUBLE as a good thing. James tells me that TROUBLE = Opportunity! He says that “trouble” can lead to endurance. So, he welcomes trouble. I’m not quite there yet. I like for trouble to stay outside the door of my life. I feel like, I create enough trouble for myself. I might need to pray more before I can welcome more trouble.

If I start viewing Trouble as Opportunity to display the Gospel in my life, then it becomes a huge benefit to me. Most everyone responds to trouble with dread and disgust. What if I approach it with a totally different place. If I’m filled with Spirit of God, I don’t need to fear T-R-O-U-B-L-E. I can embrace and have it serve a healthy purpose. I’m totally responsible for how I view Trouble, so I think James is on to something.

Today, when Trouble comes – I’m going to see it differently. I’m going to check my attitude and make sure I’m responding rather than reacting. I’m going to seize the opportunity to grow in endurance. I want Christ in me to be displayed with how I handle trouble.

Pressing On!

Dwayne

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