Today's reading

Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. –James 1:4 NIV

day 

Hold Your Head Up

Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. –James 1:4 NIV

When a baby is born, the child has no neck muscle strength, so the baby’s head has to be supported. To strengthen these muscles, there must be tummy time, which babies often hate.They struggle to lift their heads, do a face plant, all the while crying out for you to rescue them. You hate watching them struggle, but you know that without the struggle they won’t develop properly. Eventually as babies get stronger, they realize they can do it and succeed. As a loving parent, this shows you are trying to equip your child to live a better life.Adults also go through struggles. We face things we don’t like, and we cry out for our Father to rescue us. But the troubles we hate are the very things we need to develop our spiritual muscles. The Father doesn’t enjoy watching us struggle any more than we do watching our children struggle.However, He knows what it takes to equip us to master life. Whatever situation you are in today, embrace every phase of it. Don’t be in a hurry to get out of it or despise it. Instead, let it develop the muscles you need to be victorious. You can do this!

prayer focuses

When in a trial, stop and ask God, “What can I learn from this?” Father, help me see every trial as a new training program.

I want to build up strong spiritual muscles for Your Kingdom.

music

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about the

Author

Brenda Beattie

Brenda Beattie is a retired letter carrier and an active Chaplain for the USPS. She and her husband retired to Bradenton because they loved their church, Bayside Community Church. She has self-published two books, "Finding Sacred Ground In The Daily Grind," and "The Case Of The Missing Letter." She is also a repeat author for "Chicken Soup For The Soul." Her articles appear monthly in the "Mountaineer," a postal publication. Her hearts desire is to encourage and to give hope.