journey

   I have often heard, and occasionally thought myself, "I wish I knew..." I believe though that one of the sweetest blessings God gives us is the inability to know the future. Part of the thrill of life is the journey, and if we were to take away that element, where would be the joy in triumph or the strength to endure hard times? Faith would not be necessary because it would be trust in the seen not in the unseen.
   What trials have you been through in your lifetime? How did you get through? If you're anything like me you often look back thinking you should have done this or that different. And sometimes you should have, you knew better, but you did the opposite of what should have been done. Other times you learn during, or after, the right course to have taken. Other times you nail it. This is the journey.
   We were in James a lot yesterday during the morning class and the lessons presented, and the idea of tests came up. What is the point of a test? Is it not to test what we have learned to see if we can apply it? I was thinking yesterday how cool it is that God doesn't make us sit there and take a written test. Rather He gives us one life to do with as we please, and yet it is a test in and of itself to determine our final dwelling place. We can study or we can do things our own way. We can take our experiences and make corrections or we can fail in the same ways over and over. We can grow or we can stay the same. Probably the biggest difference is that it is an open note, phone a friend, and the most important, ask the Creator for help and guidance type test.
   We don't see the exact test ahead of time (although we are given examples of the same type problems). If we did we might not study as hard because we thought it was easy or we might get discouraged and simply not try (which would be a horrible thing because God's grace is an amazing thing when accessed on His terms.) We should always remember that the test and the One who gives it are always for our benefit, while the tempter, which is something totally different entirely, is out for our destruction. May we take the test that is a journey with the view of the reward always in sight.

"Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."
~James 1:4 (NIV)