Carol J German

John 10:10 says, “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”

The Trinity, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, makes it possible for you to live a content life while on earth. Why then, is it so hard? Why is the road of faith full of potholes, deters, roadblocks, and setbacks? How am I to respond to the battle between my flesh and what God offers me? This faith walk is definitely not for the faint-hearted.

Here’s the first encouragement towards these questions that every believer ponders: Joshua 1:9 says, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” And Hebrews 13:5 says, “Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for He has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.‘”

His presence is the cure-all for everything!

With these truths, read James 5 and learn how to handle life when it gets messy. James starts out with a sad reality that affects way too many people. It causes hardship for yourself and those around you. It is a top reason why your faith journey struggles and wanes.

Worldly living > spiritual living = messy faith life.

When your eyes are on what the world has to offer, like money and what it can do for you, your path ahead gets bumpy with many obstacles. James says that terrible trouble awaits. You should be weeping and groaning for your wealth will rot away. “The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire. The treasure you have accumulated will stand as evidence against you on the day of judgment.”³ Wealth leads to self-reliant living which makes you blind and deaf towards those around you. While you may not hear their cries, God does.

Are you seeing your spouse? How about your children or other family members? Or does verses 5 ring true for you, “You have spent your years on earth in luxury, satisfying your every desire. You have fattened yourselves for the day of slaughter.”

A place where this is evident is in God’s Church. For the Church to be spiritually healthy, men must rise up and lead. If they don’t, and women become on fire for the Lord, rough patches will occur. Women will constantly be swimming up stream. Their faith walk will be more messy and harder. You could say they will be held back. This is true in marriages. God has instituted the marriage relationship to reflect the Trinity. When the husband chooses to ignore his spiritual role, while the wife doesn’t, much tension occurs. An unequally yoked relationship occurs. Again, men must rise up and make their relationship with Christ first and foremost, then God can move mightily in his life, his marriage, and family.

The rest of James 5 teaches you how to respond to the hardships in your faith journey. You could say that God is calling His children to endure under pressure. One important virtue that is to “be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return.”⁷ James says to consider a farmer. He puts his crop in and his whole livelihood is in God’s hands. He has to patiently wait for the rains to come. He has to eagerly look for his harvest to ripen. A farmer has to take courage and believe.

A believer is to live and think like a farmer.

Another virtue that troubles believers is grumbling. It’s so easy to do. It makes for a messy faith life. James speaks of Job from the Old Testament. If anyone should have complained and grumbled, it should have been him! He was a man of great endurance which helped him to ride through troubling times. A promise that God gave Job and He will give you too is that at some point it will end, and God will be kind to you for He is full of tenderness and mercy; see verse 11.

If you are facing a trying time that doesn’t appear to be ending, know that God fully understands and He will never leave you, nor will it continue. All things have an end date. Your trial will never be in vain when God is involved.

The final verses in James 5 gives you insight into how to release the power of God to move on your behalf. PRAY! Prayer offered in faith moves God. You read how sickness is mentioned. Sickness is caused by sins. While it may be physical, it can be mental too. Sickness occurs in relationships, and it causes disruptions. For healing to take place, every believer must own their own sins. Confess them to one another and pray for each other. This is God’s way for healing to take place so life won’t be so messy. It reunites relationships so both parties can experience rich and satisfying lives.

A final word to keep you going, “The earnest prayer (being in a serious state of mind) of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.”¹⁶ Keep your focus on the Trinity and life won’t be so messy. Love God the Father, follow Jesus the Son, and obey the Holy Spirit. Everything else will take care of itself.