Learn To Persevere Through The Trials The Lord Places You In

Word-Of-The-Day: ‘Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.’ (James 1:12)

There are several reasons the United States is $37 trillion in debt (roughly $100,000 per each American). One is due to fraud, waste and abuse, unfortunately, and it is hoped that this is quickly weeded out and if laws were broken the perpetrators are caught and pay for their crimes. Another reason, though, is the mindset of immediate gratification. This mindset permeates American culture, from the Federal Government down to the individual citizen.

It wasn’t always this way. Americans in the past would set aside a portion of their paychecks in order to one day have enough to buy an item long desired; a home or an automobile, for example. People would save their change, or collect ‘S&H’ green stamps, or open a ‘Christmas Club’ savings account at the local Savings & Loan so one could one day procure a new kitchen gadget or to have enough to buy Christmas presents for the family. There was a sense of perseverance to do without for a period of time, to sacrifice, to gain a needed or desired goal.

Over time, though, Americans discovered they could, like businesses, leverage these desires with debt, borrowing the money to pay for goods immediately, then paying the debt off over time with interest owed. Debt is not a bad thing, as home ownership would not be possible without the availability of mortgages, for example. Unfortunately, debt became easily available for almost every purchase. Delaying the sacrifice gains instant gratification of the desire.

We now can buy everything instantaneously, down to a candy bar, with a credit card. This ability to place all purchases on debt now does not allow many people to set aside money to save as their paychecks go toward paying on what they owe, and in order to live often pay for necessities with a credit card, placing them in a deeper hole. This desire for instant gratification places people into ‘debt slavery’, a cycle of never able to get out of debt.

The government for one is starting to try to tackle its debt issue. The imposing of tariffs is an attempt to return manufacturing to America. This will allow the US to export more goods and import less, shifting the balance sheet of trade from red to green. Manufacturing should bring higher paying jobs, and income tax rates should fall as more Americans pay into the system and more tariffs are collected from other nations.

This is not an overnight solution. The problem with the tariffs is that the positive effects of them, the return of manufacturing to the US and the jobs that will create, will take several years to realize. Our society today is based on instant gratification and it shows in us wanting an immediate results, which is why instant coffee and microwave food are so popular.   (The comedian Steven Wright once opined, ‘If you microwave instant coffee, you could go back in time’.)

In order for the tariffs to work, and for manufacturing to return, we will need persevere and endure higher costs in the interim. In the past, Americans were willing to sacrifice and persevere for the common good, as they did during the Depression and World War II. We need to have ‘patient endurance’ and persevere to allow manufacturing to take root and grow, but do Americans today have that ability to persevere and patiently wait?

Perseverance is something we all have to do, in various facets in our lives.  I for one am anticipating collect my first Social Security check to take care of things put off due to affordability.  I’m sure those awaiting joint replacement surgeries want their surgeries done now and be healed immediately with positive pain-free results.  Unfortunately, the surgeries require time afterwards for rehabilitation and healing.

We are to have perseverance, or the ability to wait and go through the trials presented to us.  I retired one year later than I wanted to at age 61, but one year earlier than when I could pull Social Security to ‘bump’ my income.  Our savings and investments fortunately covered the shorter gap, but we had to put off some home improvements and other items to purchase while watching the ‘purse strings’ to get through the year until Social Security is available (next month – woo!).

The time was right for me to retire, however, and it was better to retire and persevere through a bit of belt-tightening as the time gained was more valuable than the money that could have been earned. There is no reason to rush anything on the home improvement side other than desire.   

Perseverance can be stressful, as we don’t know when the waiting or the trial will end.  Our lives are one long trial of perseverance as we wait to meet up with our Lord Jesus.  This was what James was writing about in his first chapter. While we want immediate gratification in our human element (the sinful element we all have), we need to allow our Spiritual element, controlled by the Holy Spirit, to give us the patience and even temperament to make it through our lives. 

James provided that likewise we are to persevere in living our lives in Christ, for Christ, as we await our Eternal Life with Him. We will have to deal with our own trials and tribulations, such as relationships, biases, debt, health, and other factors. We may have to deal with persecution, from those opposing Christ or our moral Biblical Worldview. Know that Jesus is with us to share our burden, and even carry those burdens for us so we can persevere.

As with almost all decisions, I pray and try to discern God’s answer.  Yes, I sometimes don’t get a ‘2×4-to-the-head’ response that is clear and concise; sometimes we do let our worldly nature overrule the common sense the Lord provides.  Have patience to see things through, and as always pray to our Lord Jesus for discernment in having perseverance.  It is better to wait and be certain, than to be rushing and wondering if you did the right thing.