A Daily Purpose

Bible Study & Devotional by Casey Alexis

Guiding Scripture: James 1:2-4, “Consider it all joy, my brothers, whenever you encounter various trials, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.”

🔴 THE NINTH MONTH

A couple of days after my 39th birthday, I found out I was expecting. I was filled with so much joy and hope to know that God fulfilled His promise. The anticipation is a beautiful thing and keeps us looking forward to the occurrence. God brings forth incredible things!

Expectancy doesn’t just apply to pregnancy.

We can expect the fulfillment of a promise, dream, or vision- a faith that the things we hope for will eventually come to fruition. Most of us have experienced seasons of expectation. What happens when you’re tested through various trials as you wait in anticipation?

In my ninth month of expectation, doubt entered my mind:

“What the heck is going on?! Have I committed some sin I didn’t know about?” “Do I have some hidden idol in my home?” It was reminiscent of the children of Isreal in the desert…” somebody sinned in the camp.” (Joshua 7:19-20) How can a promise of God be tested so much? If God said it, why am I being trialed in this way? Especially when the fulfillment of my promise is right around the corner.

I started to go down the woe-is-me route, but then I remembered, “Be anxious for nothing, but pray about everything (Philippians 4-6).”

As I prayed, the bible verse from James 1 dropped into my heart. I immediately ran to that scripture and began to meditate upon it. Once I did, the heavy burden of the sufferings lifted off my shoulders, and then it hit me!

Many believers give up on the promises of God in their ninth month of expectancy.

When things get tough, we don’t allow that particular pain to build our endurance. We hardly allow ourselves to become mature, complete, and lacking in anything. Instead, we walk away from the very thing that used to prosper us, give us hope, and a future. Endurance for a believer builds our strength to fight against the enemy. Without perseverance, our faith is easily shaken, battered, bruised, and destroyed, never fully capable of fighting the good fight of faith and running the race Paul described in 2 Timothy 4.

To endure as a believer is a testament of God’s word being made whole in us as the Bible speaks in Nehemiah 8:10, “the joy of the Lord is my strength,” and in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me.”

Brothers and sisters, let us all endure to the end.

Let us hold on to the truth of God’s word and allow it to be made perfect in us. In season and out of season, let us trust God to fulfill all of His promises in us, knowing that God is not a man that He should lie (Numbers 23:19). When He says it, it will come to pass, not just for the sake of us, but for the world who watches in anticipation to find out if this God thing is real.

Most of us are walking Gospels to our families, friends, co-workers, and other believers whose faith may not be as great as ours. Please don’t give up because a trial made to build you feels like it has come to destroy you. No, it is allowed to create a more robust version of who God has called you to be. You are a warrior, and warriors are called to fight to the very end. Put on your full armor of God and endure!

This devotional was submitted by Casey Alexis, a loving contributor to Our Given Purpose. Edited by Torrie Slaughter the founder of Our Given Purpose® in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

CASEY ALEXIS: CEO/Founder and host of Being Eve, The Podcast