This week, we confessed and acknowledged our brokenness and were assured of God’s grace and forgiveness through Exodus 34:6-7a and 2 Corinthians 12:9.
6 The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7a keeping steadfast love for thousands. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
We are deeply loved by a God who promises to restore brokenness. Have you felt the weight of brokenness in the world this week? Have you seen your own inadequacy? How does the assurance of God’s pardon and sufficient grace bring hope for restoration?
Pray: Father, you have lavished unconditional love, hope, and security on us. Your word promises that you are working in us and in the world to heal what has been broken by sin. Thank you for pursuing us in the midst of our rebellion. You are our unending need.
We heard the Gospel preached through James 1 about the gifts of wisdom and maturity we receive as the Holy Spirit works in us to make us more like Jesus. James anchors everything in his book to a living relationship with Jesus, knowing that God is always at work in the lives of his people. James reminds us to live by faith in the midst of a fallen world:
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
James is honest about the reality of brokenness. To live in a broken world is to experience trials and hardship. We can take comfort in the gift of faith we receive through Jesus. James promises growth in wisdom and maturity through trials and the testing of our faith.
Are you facing trials this week? This month? This year? Take a moment to name those things and bring them to Jesus. How does God’s promise to grant wisdom change your perspective? What might it mean to ‘count it all joy’ when you consider the hard things in your own life?
We can think about wisdom in terms of seeing everything in life as a building block. Wisdom is often at odds with our default way of thinking that every experience is a win or loss. James encourages us to step back and consider the totality of our lives, that everything is an opportunity for growth. We are being shaped by faith to become more like Jesus. James continues on by encouraging us to put our faith in Christ:
9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, 10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
Our instinct is to let success determine our value, we’d like to think that by succeeding or doing good things we can earn grace. James reminds us that success and riches are fleeting and ultimately empty. Where do you find your value? Are there areas in your own life where you are trying to earn grace?
Thankfully, we have a savior whose power is made perfect in our weakness. We are exalted, not by our own accomplishments, but by the work of Jesus. How might the gift of grace compel us to love God, love others, and love our city?
Pray: Thank you, Jesus, for reminding us that all things are moving toward you. Help us this week to crave wisdom and maturity in the midst of trial. Nurture our hearts with the truths of the gospel and compel us to seek you above all else.
As we look forward to next week, take some time to meditate on the following verses from 1 John 3. Pray that we would be convicted and encouraged by the Gospel being preached and that we would make much of Jesus as we listen and receive his word.
3:1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.