James Chapter 1

Bible Study 11/15/23 (Spiritual Habits: Endurance)

Tonight we will continue in our studies of developing spiritual habits. Our first lesson we look at developing the habit of being a servant. Our focus tonight we will be the spiritual habit of endurance.

What is endurance? The ability to keep doing something difficult , unpleasant or painful for a long time.

Life has the ability at times to have us go through things that can be very stressful, hurtful, frustrating, and tiresome. Often times it’s not just things that come and go tomorrow it can last weeks. months, and for some even years While going through these types of moments sometimes it cause us to want to go to a place where it’s just me my self and I. Sometimes we feel we just to just escape the reality of what we going through and get break and come back and it be all over with and done. However, since we can not do that some of us may choose to create a space of isolation in our mind where your present in your day to day activities and routines in the world but your really not their mentally. The choice to do that is various reason:

To help maintain your sanity

To help control your emotions

To help block any more negativity happening

For whatever those choice are you do whatever is best for you to cope with the matter that you may have at hand. Most of all through all that your going through the reality is the least you want to hear is advice that also sound incentive to what your faced with. If someone today came up to you while you was going through something and said count it all joy your response would be “okay” but in your mind you will be like “really”. However, has believers that is what we are called to accepted no matter what hardship, dilemma, or catastrophe we face in our life. According to word of God we should count those things we are face with all joy instead of getting bent out shape, stressing, or losing sleep over it. Counting your trails as joy is counterintuitive. Which it’s the opposite of what you expect.

Question: Why should you count them as Joy?

The reason you should count your trails as joy is because joy is the very thing that will produce the endurance that you need last to make it through trails.

Joy helps you not focus on how bad your situation or circumstance maybe, so that you can still work through while yet going through.

Question: So if joy produce the endurance then how do you gain joy? The reason we ask this because everything your going through or dealing with is suggesting that I should not consider think about being happy yet along have joy.

Nehemiah 8:10 “Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Answer to our question you gain that joy through God. Which means if your to gain joy through God must have what called a relationship. So, if you have relation with that says you have faith.

This no suggest that while your going through your trails you not only need to have joy but you also need make sure you have faith.

When you have faith and joy in you trials that will lead to having endurance.

Question: How does faith and joy work hand in to lead me to having endurance.

When you faith that suggest that you not only believe in God but you also trust in God. So, that means when trial come base upon who you faith