A message from Girls With Swords Study by Lisa Bevere
I’m going to talk to you out of my
collection of least favorite scriptures
my husband has already told me I
shouldn’t have scriptures that I don’t
like but there are some scriptures that
are fun to read and awful to live and
I’m going to be reading that to you
today out of the message but it is
pretty much bad news in every single
translations the book of James chapter 1
verses 2 through 8 consider 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
can become mature and well developed not
deficient anyway if you don’t know what
you’re doing pray to the Father he loves
to help you’ll get his help and won’t be
condescended to when you ask for it
ask boldly believing leave without a
second thought people who worry their
prayers are like wind whipped waves
don’t think your you get anything from
the master that way adrift at sea
keeping all your options open
okay that is a lot of information it
opens up with considerate a shear gift
friends when tests and challenges come
at you from all sides like it’s like a
ballet move another version has the
audacity to say count it pure joy not
mixed with any sorrow I don’t I don’t
like that I’m flying home to Denver
today let’s say I get home and I turn on
my phone and I find out my world is
blown up I found out you like my
basement is flooded the walls are caving
in
John has a midlife crisis I don’t know a
bunch of different stuff it’s not gonna
happen about a bunch of different stuff
it’s the whole mess going on and
I am so upset in the last time I
remember being happy with at the
love-life conference and so I called
Joyce Joyce I left and she’s like I’m
gonna get Dave let me get Dave and so
Joyce and Dave put me on speaker
I unpacked the whole story and she says
Dave what was the song that we sang at
the conference Lee supposed to sing this
right now this is such a gift I am so
happy for you that this is happening I’m
gonna hang up on Joyce on Dave and I’m
gonna call Christine because Christine
will get mad for me if she somebody’s
mean to her I get mad for her if
somebody’s mean to me she gets mad for
me because she’s Greek and I’m Sicilian
so we we get mad for each other it’s
like a gift we give each other but
apparently Christine and I are not
seeing this right
Joyce’s because our God considers
ambushes without any means of escape to
be an opportunity to show himself strong
it goes on to say you know that under
pressure your faith life is forced into
the open it’s not force of the open here
there’s an environment here where seeds
are being planted things are being
watered we give you breathing room your
resourcing yourself but you know that
under pressure your faith life will be
forced into the open when you go home
your faith life is going to be forced
into the open
I don’t like Who I am under pressure I
like Who I am at the spa I like it what
I have a fluffy robe on and I have
slippers and they let me smell the
different aroma therapy essential oils
and they say what kind of pressure would
you like today what do you think I would
pick I know you don’t know me well but
what do you think I would bit
deep-tissue absolutely that is the only
way to get your money’s worth is deep
tissue
not my husband has him do it lighting he
takes naps during it I’m like how do you
know that people even stay in the room
he’s like I woke myself up snoring she
was still there no I want to I want to
feel it I want to be bruised
I want knees in my back I want I want
I’ve had them time on the table I’m
happy with them walking on top of me but
if I start flinching too much they say
things like would you like us to back
off that pressure that is not what the
scripture is talking about it’s not
talking about where you get to pick the
pressure it is talking about when life
comes crashing down on you so hard that
you begin to cry out too or cry out for
things and it locates what you have
trusted in it says so don’t try to get
out of anything prematurely that
actually is telling you that you can get
out of it prematurely you can quit your
church you can quit your job you can
quit your husband I really would prefer
you not to quit your children but you
can try to get out of certain things you
can quit you can run away but I’m just
gonna take a little grandma truth here
you will have to take the retest and the
retest is always more difficult stay the
course