Devotion

Problems can produce good things…

Our Bible verse from James this week in chapel talked about Perseverance and Wisdom.

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. James 1: 2 - 5 NIV

I read this week about a runner, Anya, who in 5 years went from coming 7,546th to 16th in the London Marathon. I have no doubt that she would not have been able to get better without pain, struggles and putting in effort – showing grit, determination and persistence – everyday over a long period of time! We considered the challenges that we might face in life; friendship problems, learning to ride a bike or to read, working with others, learning to cook. Each of these take practice, perseverance, but what does this look like in faith?

I shared that the following things show perseverance:

Being kind to all the people around you even when you are feeling not so positive.
Prayer for a friend or family member who doesn’t know Jesus (maybe for years).
Building a bible reading habit.
Learning a new skill so that you can share it with others.
Praying for people who upset you.

This perseverance in seeking to be more like Jesus and spending time with Father God and getting to know the voice of the Holy Spirit. When we ask God for wisdom he helps us with these things, while we know that we don’t do this perfectly. Research tells us something amazing (and just quietly I believe that God planned it this way)… that when we make a mistake – we learn and our brain grows bigger!! The more we persist, try and try again, even when we don’t get it on the first time … when things are hard … our brains grow – we learn from our mistakes as we are curious about how we can do it better or in a different way …

I thank God, that he has made each of us unique and in an amazing way. I thank Him for the times when we need to learn to persevere. I pray that we rely on God and ask that you send us your Holy Spirit to help us believe and so that we grow in wisdom when we call on your name.

Blessings for this week and term,

Evie

Wednesday Worship Song Playlist

Do you find yourself wondering what songs we sing in Wednesday Worship? Do your children come home singing some of the songs? We would like to invite you to our Good Sheperd Lutheran School Worship Song Playlist on YouTube. To find a selection of songs that we sing, click here and start singing along!