1 Thessalonians 5:18 says that giving thanks in everything is God’s will for us. Hebrews 13:15 says, “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.”

James 1:2 says that we are to count our trials as something joyful ~ the moment we fall into them. J. B. Phillips says, “When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives, my brothers, don’t resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends!” 

Our intense anticipation required for endurance began to make sense as I rehearsed Scriptures to myself. We wait eagerly for Him to reveal Himself to us in ways that we have not known Him before. We embrace the process because we know deep in our hearts that He is allowing this for our ultimate good.

We remain grateful because He will complete what He has begun. We can trust Him every step of the way, because He is molding us into His image through the pressures of our trials. We can rejoice because He is Faithful.

I’ve been thinking about what it means to persevere through eagerness. Let’s review the purpose of trials. Romans 8:28 says that ALL things are orchestrated by the Lord for our good. All means without exception.

Therefore our trials have a designed purpose. Verse 29 says that He uses every aspect of our lives to conform us to His image. Hebrews 12:10 says that His chastening is for our profit, “…that we may be partakers of His holiness.”

Verse 11 says, “Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” I for one want my trials to count! I want to receive the full training that He intended.

We know that trials purify our faith. According to 1 Peter 1:7, “…may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” John 14:21 says that Jesus manifests Himself to those who, “…has My commandments and keeps them…” The Greek word for manifest means to cause to shine.

I love it when the Holy Spirit stops me in my reading, memorizing, or meditating on Scripture. He delights to imbed truth in a way that penetrates, stirs up, and awakens a neglected area. Since memorizing Romans 8:25, I realize that I have not incorporated eagerness in my times of waiting. 

He has taught me to wait in silence. I’m still learning to refuse doubts that want to creep in, or the insidious persistence of my flesh to hound my thoughts. Psalm 62:5 has been an anchor verse for me.

It says, “My soul, wait silently for God alone for my expectation is from Him.” Another verse is Psalm 131:2 which says, “Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.”

Remember Jacob wrestling with God? Genesis 32:22-30. I have wrestled with my lack of eagerness. What unresolved issues have blocked me from living in this truth? We are all called to persevere in order to fulfill His will in each of our trials ~ Hebrews 10:36.

James 5:7-8 says, “Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord…Establish your heart, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”

Hebrews 12:1 says, “…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” Verse 2 tells us how. We are to gaze at the Author and Finisher of our faith.

In this life we have trials. They are all in preparation so that we will finish well. The fiery trials are designed to expose and remove any dross that would weaken our faith. Paul wrote that he fought the good fight of faith.

In 1 Peter 5:8-9 Peter wrote about satan as the roaring lion. Verse 9 says, “Resist him, steadfast in the faith…” Colossians 2:7 says, “Rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith…” Establish means to make firm. Fixed means to not allow anything to move you from your purpose. Our hope is in the Lord alone. He is our Steadfast Anchor.

I’m memorizing a section of verses in Romans 8. Verse 25 says, “But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.” I noted that the key for perseverance is to have eagerness. The Greek meaning is intense anticipation.

As I repeated the verse over and over, I thought about my posture as I am waiting for the Lord to do many things. I am doing other things as I wait. Hebrews 10:36 says, “For you have need of endurance…” The Greek meaning for endurance is constancy, bearing up, steadfastness, holding out.

What are you waiting for? Is there an eagerness? Romans 8:19 says that the creation is waiting for the revealing of the sons of God. Verse 23 says, “Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves…eagerly waiting for the…redemption of our body.”

Picture a runner that is getting ready to run in a race. The posture is one of intense anticipation. They are waiting for the signal to begin. Nothing is distracting them. They are singularly focused.

Romans 12:2 in the J. B. Phillips says, “Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.”

1 John 1:6 says, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” We practice truth by bringing it into our lives. It becomes part of our thought processes. Our words and actions reflect our hearts.

Ephesians 3:19 Amplified says, “(That you may really come) to know (practically, through experience for yourselves)…” It is like wallpaper on our hearts.

The truth that sets us free is experiential. John 8:32. The Greek word for know is to perceive, understand, recognize, gain knowledge, realize, come to know. We know our pushy flesh by experience. The Holy Spirit works to bring inner transformation, so that truth becomes an active part of our lives and defeats our flesh.

The caterpillar spins a cocoon and waits for its transformation. I call that process the dark night of the soul. The caterpillar melts. From the liquid the butterfly is formed. After it emerges, its body is swollen with liquid. Through an intense struggle the liquid is distributed into its wings. If it didn’t persevere it would die.

Our hard trials enclose us in the unknown. Are you in a difficult circumstance right now? Do you feel overwhelmed with no answers or solutions? You may feel like an old rubber band. If you are stretched any further you will snap in two.

David was overwhelmed. Psalm 61:1-2 says, “Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” We process the present through embracing Him. We cling to His words of truth. 

Our trials purify our faith. The enemy of our soul plants thoughts that take seed and seep into our thought-life. They lie dormant until we face an impossibility. Doubts emerge. 

Think about your inner-dialogue. Do you speak truth in your heart to yourself? Psalm 15:2. Is the Lord pleased with your thought-life? Psalm 19:14. Does your conversation with others build them up or leave them empty? Ephesians 4:29.

Years ago I was driving with my friend. We were talking about how the Holy Spirit moved during a prayer time we had at church. We were excitedly sharing when all of a sudden I stopped. I said to her, “Do you realize the Lord is listening to us and recording our words in a book?”

Malachi 3:16 says, “Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and meditate on His name.”

We either resist God’s words of instruction or we embrace them and make them our own. Our hard trials are designed to train us in His righteousness. His way of conforming us to His image, is essential for our spiritual maturity. Our strength is in the struggle.

We are created to exemplify the Lord through every aspect of our lives. It all starts with our thoughts. Our minds were not renewed at the moment of our salvation. The instant we accepted the Lord, His Holy Spirit came to dwell within us.

John 14:25 says, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” Our Parakletos comes alongside us to instruct us in God’s ways.

He is right there to bring course correction the moment we veer off the path of truth. He warns through conviction of sin, when a temptation is placed before us. As we walk in the Spirit, He will guide us through that still small voice within.

Our design matures during our journey of progressive sanctification. Hebrews 13:21 says that He will, “Make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Genesis 1:26 says, “Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…” Romans 8:29 says, “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son…”

Hebrews 1:3 says, “Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”

Colossians 1:15 says, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” We are created in the likeness of the invisible God. How are we as visible beings conformed to His image?

Romans 12:2 Amplified says to not be conformed to this world, “…but be transformed (changed) by the (entire) renewal of your mind (by its new ideals and its new attitude)…” Ephesians 4:23 Amplified says, “And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind (having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude).”

Zechariah 4:6 says, “…not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit…”