Day 62 - Temptations and Trials

Today I woke up to black sky and a chilly house. Fall has come. I crawled out of my warm bed and made my way downstairs to the kitchen where my programmable coffee maker had hot coffee ready. Poured myself a steaming cup, sat down at my antique kitchen table with the lights on low, and opened my Bible.

This morning, I read from the book of James. This book was written by James, brother of Jesus, and was written to encourage our faith in Christ.

Chapter 1, verses 2-3 says this: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance."

This is definitely a time of trial in my life regarding my work situation. I've come to depend on the income, depend on the health benefits, depend on the paid sick days and the paid vacation time.

But God is shaking things up a bit. I can't depend on that income any longer. With the drastic reduction in pay, I will now have to depend on my God to supply all of my needs.

This is a time of character-building for me, certainly. And I want to tackle this trial head-on and come out on the other side having benefitted greatly from it.

I don't know the outcome. It's a tad bit scary...but I am trusting. Trusting that my God has this under control and He knows "why" this is happening.

Verse 5: "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."

So my prayer today is this: Lord, give me wisdom in this struggle. Give me the faith I need to persevere despite the bleak outlook. For in You, I have all of my needs met, even before I ask. Amen.