FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2014
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 1:3–4
When a mother eagle teaches an eaglet to fly, she will very unceremoniously kick it out of the nest, which is usually ninety feet or more above the ground. As the little bird is falling, she will wait until it almost hits the ground. Then she will swoop down, pick it up, put it back into the nest, and kick it out again. She will do this again and again. After a while, that little eaglet starts using its wings. Now, this may seem like a cruel way to teach something, but that is how eagles learn to fly.
Sometimes God will kick you out of your nest. You might be in a comfort zone in which everything is going the way you want it to. Then the Lord will say, “It’s time for you to grow up. It’s time for you to stretch your faith. It’s time for you to spread your wings.”
God will test you because He wants you to mature. He wants you to develop a walk with Him that is not based on your fluctuating emotions, but on your commitment to Him as you learn to walk by faith.
Notice that James 1:2 does not say, “Count it all joy if you fall into various trials.” Rather, it says, “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials” (emphasis added). It’s only a matter of time until the next trial will come along. It isn’t an option. We all will be tested. The question is, when these tests come will you pass or fail?
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Used by permission from Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie, PO Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514
