"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have it's perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing."(James 1:2-4)
"What kind of a title is this?" you ask!
"Brought Low, To Reach High", what do you mean by that? Let's let the writer of our text (James) explain what this means.
There are times when God has to bring us low, through the process of testings and trials, in order to help us accomplish the things he mentions here.
I don't know about you, but I don't have a lot of patience. (2-3)
When things go wrong, I want a solution right now. And like a lot of people, I step ahead of God, and try to fix things myself. Wrong approach!
I have ended up with things more upside down, more times, than I care to admit. It is better to wait on God, and let Him, in His time, to get things back on track.
Being brought low will also help us to develop perfection, or maturity. (4) I remember a cheese commercial. They humanized a chunk of cheese, acting very disruptive and immature. And then after the piece of cheese had aged, it was acting very cooperative and wise.
In His time, and through the process of trials, God grows us up. He brings us low, to help us to reach high to achieve that perfection, or maturity.
As we live out God's word in the midst of the challenges we face, we develop a knowledge, and experience, that will help us in dealing with problems that arise in the future. Let's not be angry at God, when He breaks us, to bring us to a higher plane of maturity. God knows what He is doing! GP
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