Patience Produces Maturity
James 1:2-4
2 Consider it nothing but joy, my [b]brothers and sisters, whenever you fall into various trials. 3 Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace]. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed [in your faith], lacking in nothing.
Do you ever feel like you are in a hurry and you want things done now and yet God seems to be taking his sweet time? I know we all have that feeling from time to time. We are to consider it nothing but joy when we go through trials because we have the understanding that the trials we go through have a purpose for our good. The trials come to test our faith meaning the trials create an environment for faith to grow. In that environment we have to exercise endurance or patience and as we learn to be patient something happens to us, we begin to mature as our character is formed.
I believe God slows down the process so that we can get to better know Him. He can speed up things and make them happen so fast but what good will that do us? We will not mature, we will not consider others and we will not really know Him. You and I have to allow patience to do its complete work which is to mature us. A mature person is not self-centered, they consider others. A mature person does not react to issues they respond. God desires that we mature and don’t remain babies for this reason He will take us down the path of trials so that our faith may be tested producing patience and endurance which causes us to mature.
Romans 5:3-5
3 But that’s not all! We gladly suffer,[c] because we know that suffering helps us to endure. 4 And endurance builds character, which gives us a hope 5 that will never disappoint us. All of this happens because God has given us the Holy Spirit, who fills our hearts with his love.
Not only does endurance build character which is helping us mature, it also gives us a hope that will never disappoint. That is the hope that assures us that God is faithful to perform that which He has promised to do. The bible is filled experiences of those who have gone before us who also waited some for many years and God did deliver that which He promised.
Are you going through trials? Consider it nothing but joy, that’s a good place to be at because your faith is being built up building up endurance in you which is causing you to mature giving you a hope that never disappoints.
