BLESSED IS THE MAN WHO PERSEVERES UNDER TRIAL

By, Joni Eareckson Tada

“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the victors crown” (James 1:12).

Obeying God’s command to love others is one of the most difficult things we ever have to do when suffering. Our own needs, pains, and grief’s, scream for our undivided attention. Yet giving in would do nothing but hurt us, for often healing comes when we get our minds off ourselves and show concern for others, and their cares and interests.

Years ago, at a wedding shower for my friend Sheryl, I was having anything but a good day. My back ached, my corset was too tight, and the two got together and made my head throb. I’ve got to admit that my conscience wasn’t treating me all too nicely either. It kept reminding me of a few things I’d said to a member of my family that morning, even though I had confessed those things to God. And looking around at all those smiling faces didn’t help things much. I should be happy today. After all, Sheryl’s one of my closest friends, and this is her special day. About all I could do was work up a polite smile and hope nobody would corner me in conversation.

Staring blankly ahead, I was looking at, but not really noticing, Pop Bond-Sheryl’s father-in-law-to-be, the only man at the shower. Oblivious to the girlish chatter, Mr. Bond was picking his way around boxes and presents, snapping photos from this angle and that. But when he began to zoom his lens in on me, he stopped being a blur in my vision and suddenly came into focus.

“Oh, no,” I protested. Please, not me.”
“Why not?” he said with a smile, and began walking toward me. “You look very pretty today.”
My gaze dropped. “Well, Pop, I don’t feel very pretty.”
“That’s no problem. This camera can make you look great even on a bad day,” he joked, taking a seat on the folding chair beside me. “Here, let me show you this new lens I just bought.”

With that, he opened his leather case, and began displaying proudly, one by one, his host of camera attachments, explaining as he went.
“Now, just take a look at this new two-hundred-dollar-millimeter zoom lens, Why, you can focus and zoom with just one hand.”

I have to admit, I wasn’t very interested in hearing about his camera gizmos. But I listened, as this white-haired gentleman with the sparkling eyes continued. He told me how excited he was about his basement darkroom. Pride beamed in his eyes as he described the local awards some of his pictures had won. ”Um hum,” I nodded casually, still not particularly impressed. But he did begin catching my ear when he started recounting a recant trip he had taken to Sagamore Horse Farm to photograph some of their breeding barns and springhouses. He went on to explain how he had returned to the farm weeks later to give the manager some of the finished photos he had taken there.

“Pop really does love his hobby, I thought. I admire that. His story continued.

“The manager liked those shots so much he asked if I’d come back and take pictures of their stallions,” he exclaimed.

“No kidding!” I lit up a bit. How did you get those high-spirited thoroughbreds to stand still for a snapshot?”

“Well, it wasn’t easy,” he laughed and lifted a finger. “But we all got together and…”

Before long, I began to realize I was interested in what Pop was saying and was really listening to him.

“Well, Pop,” I smiled, “You’ll just have to come up to our farm soon. Bring your cameras and we’ll make a day of it.” By the time the shower was over, I had discovered how much I really did care about this dear old gentlemen and his hobby. More than that, I had genuinely forgotten all about my aches and pains and guilty conscience. The concern I had shown for him was the very remedy that worked wonders for me! When God tells us to obey Him in our trials by putting others first, He knows what He’s doing. He knows we won’t be sorry.

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together…and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Luke 6:38).

A STEP FURTHER, by Joni Eareckson Tada and Steve Estees © 1978, 1990, 2001 by Joni Eareckson Tada, Pgs. 92-94.