There’s nothing like a victory on the soccer field to make a family hungry, so drive-through, here we come. Combo meals and single sandwiches ordered; we pull around to the first window to pay. Now, we’re in the lead in the parade of customers proceeding to the second window. We pick up our order and quickly pull away so the next customer can be helped. We stop in the parking lot to satisfy those hunger pains before driving home, but there is a problem. The restaurant forgot to put my fries in the bag. Can you relate?

We allowed ample time to get to the doctor’s appointment, but halfway there, traffic was at a standstill. The extra time allowed was erased. The snarled traffic pushed our arrival 30 minutes past our appointment time. Can you relate?

The agenda didn’t allow much time between flights, and the first was delayed. This meant we had to run from one side of the airport to the other to make the flight. We made it to the gate just as they were calling our name for the final time about to shut the aircraft door. Can you relate?

Day-to-Day Living

I’m guessing you relate to these events. They are normal, everyday strains on our character. We know life has tough moments in which we have to rely heavily on our faith. God uses these crises to strengthen us, but what about the everyday events? Not shattering enough to be classified a crisis, they are just big enough to annoy us. James reminds us these events are helping build a Godly character of endurance.

“Dear brothers and sisters,” James 1:2-4 says, “when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So, let it grow. For when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete needing nothing.”

Max Lucado writes, “When a potter bakes a pot, he checks its solidity by pulling it out of the oven and thumping it. If it ‘sings,’ it is ready. If it ‘thuds,’ it is placed back in the oven. The character of a person is also checked by thumping. Have you been thumped lately?”

Thump, Thump, Thump

Fries missing. Traffic wrinkling our schedule. Running through the airport to make a flight are all thumps. Life is filled with thumps. Lucado continues, “There’s nothing like a good thump to reveal the nature of a heart. The true character of a person is seen, not in momentary heroics, but in the thump-packed hum-drum of day-to-day living.”

How do you respond when you are thumped in your daily life? Do you “sing” or “thud?” What changes do you need to make to your response? Join me in challenging yourself to do more “singing” and less “thudding.”

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