Tag Archive for: James 1:12

Don’t Run From Hard

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James 1:12 — God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

I remember sitting on my couch one night, staring at the walls, feeling trapped by a season of life I didn’t want to be in. Every instinct was screaming: get out.

I wanted to find a distraction. Doom scroll on my phone. Or anything to avoid feeling uncomfortable. But nothing worked. Impatience bubbled up and every worry started rising to the surface.

So, I opened my Bible and brought my frustrations to the Lord. As I read, I slowly started to lean in to what I was reading. Praying, I began to ask for guidance and to share with God the thoughts I was having that I didn’t want to admit.

As I did, it became clear to me that running was not the answer. In God’s goodness, he was actually using the uncomfortable things in my life to refine me. He started to show me that the pressure I was feeling was actually helping me to grow. In the same way, hard things have a way of bringing rough edges to the light.

There is a blessing for the one who perseveres under trial—for the one who stands firm and lets the testing do its work—because on the other side of endurance is a life God Himself promises to those who love Him.

Not because it’s easy—but because somewhere in the middle of it, my love for Him was growing stronger than my desire to escape it.

Endurance isn’t just about surviving a storm—it’s about letting God refine your heart while you stand firm.

By the time that season passed, I didn’t just survive. I walked away steadier. My trust in God had deepened. My heart had been softened. And I had a story to remind me—and anyone I share it with—that hardship, when met with faith, can produce beauty that lasts.

Because when the storm finally passes, you won’t just come out relieved—you’ll come out refined, rooted, and with a crown that no easy season could ever forge or fashion.

 

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

  • What is a situation in your life right now that you feel tempted to escape or avoid?
  • How do you typically respond when you feel uncomfortable or under pressure?
  • What might God be trying to shape or refine in you during this season?
  • How can you lean into God instead of away from Him when things feel hard?
  • What would it look like to trust that this season has purpose—even before you see the outcome?
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Heroes Made in Hard Places

James 1:12 — God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.

I knew a real-life hero.

Growing up in downtown Tupelo, I had a pal named Lyle who lived a few streets over. Lyle and I were thick as thieves since we were knee high to a tadpole. We spent endless days running wild through the weeds, and I think I enjoyed those adventures as much as playing with my Barbies.

But even as a kid, the thing that stuck with me was Lyle’s dad—the colonel.

Colonel Carlyle “Smitty” Harris was a man we all talked about like a legend. The thing that struck me most was that his boy, Lyle, hadn’t even met him yet. The Colonel was a top gun fighter pilot way before we even knew that term, and at the time, he was a prisoner of war.

See, during the Vietnam War, his plane was shot down. He had to eject and was immediately captured. For eight years, he was beaten to a pulp, paraded through enemy streets, and thrown into a prison that felt like hell itself.

But in that terrible place, Smitty never quit. Like Paul, he found a way to rise above the pain, praising God through it. He even used a secret tap code to remind fellow prisoners that they were not alone.

I cannot even imagine what those years were like—the fear, the pain, the endless waiting. But Colonel Smitty held onto hope.

Finally, the day everyone had so fervently prayed for arrived. He was triumphantly rescued by American troops. I will never forget watching Lyle meet the father he had only known through photographs and stories. What a day!

If that does not sound like the best movie script ever, I do not know what does.

That day made it clear—heroes are not born with capes. No, the hero’s cape is woven in the hard places.

So what if your toughest days are actually telling a greater story? What if God uses the way you endure them as the very thing that points someone else to the truest hero of all?

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