Hardship, Own Judgement, Special Role

Growing up I remember some of my friends at the age of 15 getting a hardship liscense. I was so jealous of them at the time, yet in the end I didn't know that in due time I would get my own hardships. Not a license that liberated me to drive about the land, but something that gave me the freedom to grow, gain enduarance, and cherish hope. In the first chapter of James, he challenges us to not run from hardships and test. He goes on to write that we will ultimately find joy in them. This portion of the key verse sums up my life story. Throughout my lifetime I have been forced to face counless hardship, but the beauty in the midst of those hardship God has developed me into the person that I am today. Through those hardship, the pain and suffering, I have witnessed firsthand what joy truly looks like.

Another key verse in the passage states Those who depend only on their own judgement are like those lost on the seas, carried away by any wave or picked up by any wind. The sad reality is it has been a common occurrence in my life to act on my own without the counsel of first and foremost God, then secondly God fearing people. Too often I have lived my life, like what Burger King proposes, my way right away, instead of God's way the right way.

The verse that stuck out in my mind the most was verse 18 of James chapter 1. It states Remember, too, that we have a special role in His plan. He calls us to life by His message of truth so that we will show the rest of His creatures His gooodness and love.
What inspiration these words are to those that are people of the light.