Lacking in Nothing

James 1:2-4,12 ESV

 

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

 

“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”

 

I have been sick for over a week now. It started out as flu symptoms and then it switched to a sinus infection with persistent cough. I have been sleeping on and off for a week, and I have had no appetite. I am able to drink so I am drinking lots of water. But my body just doesn’t like food right now. I feel miserable, but I am trusting the Lord through it all.

 

So, as I lay in bed, in pain and suffering, the Lord Jesus put this song in my mind, “Come, Ye Disconsolate.”

 

Come, Ye Disconsolate

 

Lyrics by Thomas Moore, 1816

Arr. by Thomas Hastings, 1831

Music by Samuel Webbe, Sr, 1792

 

Come, ye disconsolate, where’er ye languish,

Come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel.

Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish;

Earth has no sorrow that heav’n cannot heal.

 

Joy of the desolate, light of the straying,

Hope of the penitent, fadeless and pure!

Here speaks the Comforter, tenderly saying,

“Earth has no sorrow that heav’n cannot cure.”

 

Here see the bread of life, see waters flowing

Forth from the throne of God, pure from above.

Come to the feast of love; come, ever knowing

Earth has no sorrow but heav’n can remove.

 

And that has been encouraging to me for I do know that God cares about my suffering. And he is my great physician and healer, and he alone has the power to heal me of this sickness and to make me well again. But sometimes he allows us to go through trials to test our faith and to humble us and to draw us closer to him, and so I trust in his timing.

 

So, we are to count it all joy when we meet trials of various kinds, for the testing of our faith produces steadfastness of faith which needs to have its full effect that we may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. So these things are for our ultimate good, not to make our lives miserable, even if we feel miserable physically as we are going through them.

 

And we need to remain steadfast in faith when we are going through these trials, for when we have stood the test we will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him – to those who obey him. For to love God is to obey him. If we do not obey him we do not love him, and if we do not love him we do not have eternal life in him.

 

So, whatever you are going through, trust the Lord through it no matter how hard the test may be. Don’t let your circumstances get the best of you, but pray through it all, trusting the Lord completely through every trial, and every pain, and every sorrow. He knows what is best, and he has a plan and a purpose for it all.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06q9am18p9k

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