God's Upside Down Kingdom

This morning during my Bible reading, I discovered another one of God's upside down principles. As we continue to struggle with frustrations concerning the building of our new restaurant, God continues to bless us with solutions and wisdom, but it always seems to come after long times of wrestling with issues. I feel like things should be solved easier, quicker and with less struggle. I am always expecting microwave solutions. So this morning I found this gem:

James 1:2 (The Message)

2-4Consider it a sheer gift (or "pure joy" in another version) , friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its' work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.

We just want easy (don't you love that Easy Button concept from that office product store) but God wants maturity. Now, we all know this principle, and are very familiar with that verse, but why is it so hard to remember in the midst of a trial? In the midst of a trial, all we can see are the circumstances. If we could just turn our focus to the Lord, then all would soon become clear. Well, maybe not as quickly as we would like, but when He knows it's time, His faithfulness will be evident.

God is always moving us to higher levels in Him and unfortunately, uphill walks require more energy than walks on level ground. But consider it pure joy....