Correction Creates Perfection
Prayer 365 // The Power of Discipline (Day 3)
More from this week:
Today's Scripture:
“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 its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” - James 1:2-4 NKJV
Today's Devotional:
Through discipline, God is perfecting you. I know you’re saying well Pastor Brooks, “this doesn’t feel good.” I know... it’s not meant to. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. But the harvest in the end is what we long for. But there’s no harvest if there’s no training. God desires that we be holy like He is and because we’re sinful by the flesh, we must trained for holiness by the Spirit. It’s through discipline that we become what He desires us to be.
Therefore, the perfecting process is a preparatory process. No longer should you just say, God is correcting me but your should also say, God is preparing me. Every time you receive correction, you are being perfected and prepared for your purpose and calling. Take a look at Joseph, what was traumatic to him at the time became the tool God used to develop him. His life's trials prepared him for his purpose and calling as the overseer of the entire nation of Egypt during one of the most challenging times of their history. Therefore don’t look at your circumstances as torture, but look at them as a tool in the sovereign hands of God being used to refine you for your purpose.
I’ll be honest with you, today’s scripture is one I didn’t like. In fact I couldn’t stand it because it stretched me in ways I didn’t want to be stretched. Let’s take a look at it in The Message translation:
“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”
James 1:2-4 MSG
This was a word that I didn’t want to hear. In fact, it’s like curse words to an undisciplined life. There were many times in my walk that I wanted to leave the church and abandon the faith but this scripture kept rising in my heart... “Don’t get out of anything prematurely.” I wanted to quit, the pressure was too high, the struggle was too real, the pain was unbearable but what I couldn’t see is that all of it were tools in the hands of the Father that are shaping me for my destiny. He was perfecting me.
A diamond is not created or perfected through a comfortable process, instead it undergoes significant pressure to transform into something that’s desirable. What’s so amazing about the sovereignty of God is that he can take any circumstance you face and use it to build you. Yes! He will use it to make you better.
You see, if I had quit, I would’ve been underdeveloped. If I had quit, I would be deficient in more ways than one. So instead of quitting, I kept going. I’m not saying I didn’t fall or there weren’t moments I fell short because all have fallen short of the glory of God. But I’m so thankful because this word challenged me in a way that I didn’t want to be challenged. Every time I wanted to quit, all I could hear Him saying was “Don’t get out too fast. Don’t quit fast, I’m shaping you. Don’t quit fast, I’m developing you. Don’t quit fast, I’m perfecting you. I want you to be encouraged today by knowing that God is perfecting you.
The key is that in all that you’re going through, although you mess up, although you fall short, repent. Perhaps you’re saying, “I’m tired of repenting, I feel like God isn’t hearing me anymore.” No, that couldn’t be further from the truth. When you repent, you reveal your insufficiencies, inabilities and limitations then you acknowledge God and invite Him and His limitlessness into the limitations of your life. You were never meant to do this all by yourself, that’s why you need a trainer. You’re fighting a fight you’ve never fought before, you need a trainer. Allow the Spirit of God to develop you and perfect you in this season to become what He purposed and called you to be.
Prayer Focus: That you will see your challenges as tools of perfection in the hands of the Father.
I'm praying for you and with you,
Pastor Enrique Brooks
Therefore, the perfecting process is a preparatory process. No longer should you just say, God is correcting me but your should also say, God is preparing me. Every time you receive correction, you are being perfected and prepared for your purpose and calling. Take a look at Joseph, what was traumatic to him at the time became the tool God used to develop him. His life's trials prepared him for his purpose and calling as the overseer of the entire nation of Egypt during one of the most challenging times of their history. Therefore don’t look at your circumstances as torture, but look at them as a tool in the sovereign hands of God being used to refine you for your purpose.
I’ll be honest with you, today’s scripture is one I didn’t like. In fact I couldn’t stand it because it stretched me in ways I didn’t want to be stretched. Let’s take a look at it in The Message translation:
“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”
James 1:2-4 MSG
This was a word that I didn’t want to hear. In fact, it’s like curse words to an undisciplined life. There were many times in my walk that I wanted to leave the church and abandon the faith but this scripture kept rising in my heart... “Don’t get out of anything prematurely.” I wanted to quit, the pressure was too high, the struggle was too real, the pain was unbearable but what I couldn’t see is that all of it were tools in the hands of the Father that are shaping me for my destiny. He was perfecting me.
A diamond is not created or perfected through a comfortable process, instead it undergoes significant pressure to transform into something that’s desirable. What’s so amazing about the sovereignty of God is that he can take any circumstance you face and use it to build you. Yes! He will use it to make you better.
You see, if I had quit, I would’ve been underdeveloped. If I had quit, I would be deficient in more ways than one. So instead of quitting, I kept going. I’m not saying I didn’t fall or there weren’t moments I fell short because all have fallen short of the glory of God. But I’m so thankful because this word challenged me in a way that I didn’t want to be challenged. Every time I wanted to quit, all I could hear Him saying was “Don’t get out too fast. Don’t quit fast, I’m shaping you. Don’t quit fast, I’m developing you. Don’t quit fast, I’m perfecting you. I want you to be encouraged today by knowing that God is perfecting you.
The key is that in all that you’re going through, although you mess up, although you fall short, repent. Perhaps you’re saying, “I’m tired of repenting, I feel like God isn’t hearing me anymore.” No, that couldn’t be further from the truth. When you repent, you reveal your insufficiencies, inabilities and limitations then you acknowledge God and invite Him and His limitlessness into the limitations of your life. You were never meant to do this all by yourself, that’s why you need a trainer. You’re fighting a fight you’ve never fought before, you need a trainer. Allow the Spirit of God to develop you and perfect you in this season to become what He purposed and called you to be.
Prayer Focus: That you will see your challenges as tools of perfection in the hands of the Father.
I'm praying for you and with you,
Pastor Enrique Brooks
Did you know that Thryve Church prays together 365 days a year? Join us Monday-Friday at 6:30am & Saturdays at 8am for "Prayer at the Altar" by dialing 339- 207-7471 and then join us Sundays at 11am for Worship Service! Learn More