“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 NLT
Previously I talked about being thankful for God’s plan. That He has a plan and a purpose for our lives. He wants to give us hope and a future. Christ died so that we can get back in right relationship with God the Father and not be condemned to eternal suffering. His ultimate plan of salvation is available to us through the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Then there is the plan specifically for each of our lives. God calls you to preach or sing or rap or open up a business. There is a course or a path that He has specifically for you to follow. A particular way He’s going to use you to glorify Him in the earth. For that you seek after Him and are led by His Spirit to know what that is. I say we are to be thankful for that, because it lets us know that God has us on His mind. Even before we were in existence He was thinking about us with great detail.
Not only should we be thankful, but we have to really set our minds to trust God and His plan. There are times when the plan either doesn’t look like it’s working or that there isn’t a plan at all. You just kind of feel like you’re out there in limbo. Just know that it’s working. I know it sounds cliche, but God didn’t bring you this far to leave you. He’s an ever present help. He’s always as close as your next breath. Sometimes circumstances discourage us and make God seem so far away.
These are the times to draw closer to Him and let His Spirit comfort you. Peace is not the absence of outer turmoil. It’s having no turmoil internally despite what’s going around you. God gives peace that surpasses all understanding. It’s not dictated by what is going on around us. It’s peace and joy given to us on the inside by the Spirit of God. No matter what we go through in the midst of it God can give us a reason to smile and have joy in Jesus.
That leads us to our Throwback Song of the Week. We’re headed to the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia, to the big homie R-Swift. The featured song is entitled “Smile” and features singer, songwriter and producer Courtney Orlando fka J.R. This is from Swift’s 2006 release “Revolutionary Theme Muzik”. Tune in to the latest episode of Trackstarz to hear DJ Jeremaya play this as the Throwback Song of the Day. Until next time…
Peace and blessings,
Damo
