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How do you feel when you meet a challenge head on and succeed?

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind; for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Let the believer who is lowly boast in being raised up, and the rich in being brought low, because the rich will disappear like a flower in the field. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the field; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. It is the same way with the rich; in the midst of a busy life, they will wither away. Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. No one, when tempted, should say, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one. But one is tempted by one’s own desire, being lured and enticed by it; then, when that desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and that sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death. - James 1:1-15

James begins by setting us up for success.

We can endure anything for God and achieve anything with God.  God fills the gaps in our lives and empowers us to rise up.

Assurance and confidence are the tools God provides, and so long as we move forward without doubt and fear, we are not tempted to stray from the path.

Everything is possible with God.  As crazy as that sounds, we need to believe in order to gain the strength to endure.

While God doesn't create the situation that can lead to trouble for us, God is there to help us through it.

It is important to see God this way, as the one who draws us away from evil and corruption and danger.  When we feel ourselves slipping, it is God who catches us.

But if we let doubt creep in and take hold, we find ourselves alone.

And that is when fear takes over.

More to come...