“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For 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 1:2-4


I wish I were perfect. Too many times I look at my immediate situation and begin to hope for the future. Staying in the moment is difficult and frustrating. Escaping the moment can be detrimental if it's through a means that God isn't involved or hasn't achieved the purpose for which the moment was created for. I ask God for grace to bear the weight of the moment as He perfects me and brings peace and patience. God is always up to something, but He is more of a slow cooker than a microwave. We live in a culture of immediate gratification. You can literally order a full meal for a family and pick it up "at the next window, please". The Lord can free us and do things in any timeframe He chooses, but generally He likes using time. He could have created everything in a moment, but He chose days. He could have sent Jesus in the beginning, but He waited thousands of years. He could have spared Jesus life, but chose to let Him suffer and die before raising Him in 3 days. Embrace the wait.

“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.”
Colossians 3:1-10 NLT


As much as I like to think I am fine walking in and working out my salvation, these verses remind me how far I have to go. They remind me of who I am and how I may not have made as much progress as I think I have. Simple things bind me. I am constantly battling the Lord over what I want in relation to what He wants. In my heart of hearts, I know and want to follow Him in every way, but I contend with my flesh that seeks to be satisfied. I'm thankful I am not the man I was when God found me. I struggled so much as I found His path. There were things I put down and then picked up time after time. I felt conviction for my failures but lacked the strength, knowledge, and in some cases, the desire to change. Even now, when I think back to primal me, I see the blurry but still recognizable man I was. “For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what
you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.” James 1:23-25 The mask I wear protects me from revealing all of who I was to people who may not be able to forgive that man.