Overcome

Have you even been hit in the face? I mean a full-forced punch right in the bridge of the nose. You can hear it in the back of your skull. And every time something reminds you of it, you hear it again, just as vividly. There is no pain, just shock, and lots of blood. If you are like me, you get this twisted little smile as blood is pooling in your hands and a crowd of people stands staring in something like concern or entertainment. The smile comes from the adrenaline and most of all- the freshness of the experience.
The first time you truly get hit like that, you have never felt anything like it. It's not the physical feeling of it that is good, but the insanity of it. If you have ever seen Fight Club (there goes my Christian reader base) there is this scene where the two main characters are fighting each other in the parking lot of a bar and Tyler says “I don't know why, I've never been in a fight before, now hit me”. They have a brutal fight in that parking lot and are both laughing the whole way through. This seems incredibly twisted, I know, but think about it (by the way, this has nothing to do with fighting)- this was a new experience for both of them. And it was painful, people look down on it- but they didn't care. Now apply this rush of adrenaline to a cause that is much, much greater. To an army living not for adrenaline rush, but for the Almighty God. An army that is rising up, preparing for a fight like they have never seen. A journey they have never experienced in their lifetime. A love that they have never felt before. A life of true adventure. So even the deep cuts and bruises you receive along the way make you laugh, because even in the struggle that provided those wounds, you are exhilarated to no end, because you know that the purpose was much higher than the cost, but also because there is something in us- mankind- that is always longing for a fight, a struggle. God simply gives us a purpose to do it and tells us to find joy in it.
So stand up- never back down from a good fight when one is presented. When the enemy sends something your way, laugh in his face and overcome the temptation to fall to his side. Because there is one thing you know, something sewn so deep into your heart it can never be ripped away- no matter how hard the enemy claws at it. This precious knowledge and purpose is that God is on your side until the end. He will fight the enemy tooth and nail for you, and win every single time (remembered the brutal death he died because of his love for you?). So when presented with a challenge, follow God's example and fight it with all you've got (which, since you are only human, may not seem like much, but when you ask for the strength, and you care about trampling Satan's attempts to win you over, God will pull through for you every single time). Be avid and vicious in your faith, so even when times are tough, and the enemy is up against you in the most terrifying ways possible- you can laugh and say “do your worst”, because your soul is already his, so what else can be taken from you? Never be afraid. God always pulls through.
That time you got hit in the face- you will remember it. You will hear it reverberating in your skull every time something reminds you of it. But it heals. You can think about the fact that you are now tougher for even having experienced it. So it is so n your faith. You will remember those hits you take, they don't just go away, you can't pretend like nothing happened. But sometimes the entire purpose of those hits are to make you tougher so you never go down that road again, and so you can remember how your Father came through and saved you whenever you doubt he will save you from the situation you are currently trapped in.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” (James 1:3-4) Let's pick this apart, shall we? Alright, so James starts out by saying that you should consider it pure joy when you are facing trials. Joy isn't necessarily acting fake and happy when you are being treated horribly. It means that no matter what, you can always know that you will come out alive. Joy doesn't materialize in a smile, it materializes in a warmth of the soul that follows you all your life, and is especially comforting during the tough times. Now, the next part says that the testing of faith develops perseverance. This is what I mentioned before about how you must always look back at your hardships to avoid them in the future. Furthermore, it gives wisdom. And with that wisdom comes the ability to persevere through the next challenge, which builds perseverance even more. This is why James goes on to say in the next verse: “Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”. So when you are in the face of challenge, you can overcome it over and over again, your strength building more and more with every blow you take, until you are mature in Christ and can follow in his footsteps closer every day.
This is one of the many things I love about God: he has infinite knowledge (and, more importantly, wisdom), and through all the little things he carefully inserts into our paths, it is revealed to us. Most of us know that every day is a learning experience, and take that lightly because it is cliché, and acquiring any kind of wisdom beyond our own suggests we don't already have it. However, I think it should be exciting that God would want to instill his infinite wisdom in us as part of this incredible unraveling story. When you turn that page, you learn something new every time. This is why you shouldn't be afraid of experiencing new things. When you do, you will probably see some hardship, and you will receive wisdom if you go about it the right way. Even more so, then, you should take joy during your hardships when they come unexpectedly, as they often will (God has a funny way of throwing plot twists all over his story- which is part of what makes it so good). So when you are given a challenge, don't just hang your head when you fail and pity yourself. Be strong and have heart- plant your feet in the ground and fight. And if you get torn to shreds, just stand up, shake it off and know you are already healed. That you are stronger. This is the Joy of The Lord. He is always with you, so never back down, because he is letting these things happen to you and watching you, wanting for you to learn the lesson he is putting right in front of you, right behind you the whole way. “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.” (James 1:5)