Worshipping God can take many different forms. James, Jesus’s brother and future martyr, knew this first-hand as he endured persecution, yet wrote one of the most prolific books on persevering under trial. Suffering and trials can take many different forms, and looks different for every person, but society as a whole has felt the ramifications of the trial of 2020. Bitter divisions. Racism. Disease. There are words in the Bible that seem to promise these types of things won’t happen, and that, as followers of God, we’ll find “refuge from the storm” through Him. So, what happens when we don’t? What happens when the deadly pestilence does find it’s way into our house? What happens when the enemy does enter into our world and take the life of a loved one? What exactly did the Psalmist mean, then, and how can these promises be trusted in a time of coronavirus?

The Psalmist, and James, trusted that God was righteous, which means He desires and goes to extreme lengths to be in right relationship with His children. Since He is righteous, His promises of redemption can be trusted. The soul of His child, despite deadly pestilence, is safe in His hands because Jesus Himself walked through the deadly pestilence on our behalf and conquered it. His death and resurrection are the refuge our souls can cling to, despite any physical circumstances. The hope He provides is what James held onto, all the way up to being beheaded. The hope Jesus provides is what David trusted would come, even when he suffered the death of one son and the betrayal of another. The redemption of brokenness, and the promise that, through Christ, all will be made new, gives the Christian the strength to persevere.

Which brings us to February. 

Perseverance is worship. We daily bring our doubts, frustrations, fears, and tattered beliefs to God and, in humility, surrender ourselves to His plan, though we cannot see it. Though we cannot know it or control it and manipulate it in any way; we trust Him because we love Him, and we love Him because He first loved us, and gave Himself for us. Our weaknesses and brokenness are ways that, mercifully, God exposes our great need for Him and our inability to save ourselves. And because He provides for us daily, to the point where we don’t have to worry about tomorrow, we endure. We persevere though it is easier to give up, and in sacrificing that desire to quit, we worship. By laying down our desire to wrap it all up together in a nice bow, make sense of chaos, or resisting throwing in the towel, we trust that He redeems and keeps His promises, even if we don’t live to see them. We persevere. And in persevering, we submit to Him. We worship through perseverance. 

“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”

James 1:12