James 1:12

"Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God promises to those who love Him." -James 1:12

I find the bold/italicized words especially interesting.

Under trial - bearing the weight of it. Not necessarily putting effort into anything but being a recipient of its weight or its burden.

Stood the test - more than bearing its weight, to stand takes muscle activity and strength, putting a great deal of effort to lift both one's own body weight, and the weight of his or her burden.

There is an enormous difference in 'bearing weight' and 'lifting weight.' For instance, when me and Brennen are around a lot of kids, we tend to play and wrestle around with them. It never fails that either myself or him winds up on the floor with five or six kids directly on top. For me, it is easy to lay on the ground while having the weight of five children on my back. It is much more difficult to put effort into standing up, lifting all of my own weight and all of theirs.

"Blessed is the man … who is UNDER trial. … he will receive the crown of life that God promises … when he has STOOD the test."

How heavy are the things being laid on you? Surely, to overcome these obstacles in life, it will take a great deal more pain and effort to overcome them than it will take to 'get through' them. Face it! it is useless to rely on your own strength to overcome life and its obstacles.

How heavy IS your yoke? Do you know what a 'yoke' is? Not the egg yoke. A 'yoke' is like a trailer hitch used in the old days. Instead of a truck, they used horses, and instead of a metal trailer, they used carriages to carry people, or wooden trailers to carry food and probably other stuff. When a horse would pull things like carriages or trailers, the yoke was a wooden device that was placed on the back of the horse (or the horses). It was connected to the trailer or carriage so that most of the weight that was put onto the trailer or carriage was held up by the horse. A lot of times, this 'yoke' was a very heavy burden to hold up while walking/running.

How heavy is your yoke? How heavy are the burdens inside of your 'trailer of life' that you are trying to pull?

I'm not sure that everyone can see the true weight of life's burdens upon their lives. However, let me assure to you this truth in my life: the yoke in my life that is so much bigger than me, and seems much too heavy for me to BEAR (survive), let alone CARRY (overcome). To anyone who realizes this as truth in his or her own life, here are the spoken words of Christ:

"Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." -Matthew 11:30

I am no match for my circumstances when I do not allow Christ to carry my burdens. I have no ability to overcome or to get the best of circumstances when I am on my own. However, when I PUT EFFORT into prayer and reading the Holy Word(s) of the LORD, the strength of The Almighty suddenly embodies me, the hope and light of Christ Jesus become my vision, the Holy Spirit convicts me and keeps my mind, and I find myself looking forward to the carrying out of James 1:12 in my own life. Here it is again:

"Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God promises to those who love Him." -James 1:12

May you be overwhelmed with the LORD, and allow His mighty hand to do good things inside of you. Carry out those good things inside of you in your life. (If you have a light in your heart act on the convictions of that light to share its radiance with the world.)