In a recent episode, I used engrafting as a word picture of how God’s Word is to function within our soul (penetrating our mind, will, and emotions). Engrafting, you may recall, is the process of splicing a branch from one tree into another tree. The spliced branch will retain its original desirable properties (such as the type of fruit, leaves, etc.), and will receive nourishment from the stock tree. I shared how spending time each day reading the Bible, and taking it into our soul, is an essential step in the process of engrafting God’s Word into our soul.
I then gave an acronym for a useful method to engraft the Bible: SOAP. Today, I want to get really practical, and walk through a recent example of my time in the Bible. Let’s consider the following passage as the S (Scripture) part of our SOAP method:
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete [that is, mature], lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4 NASB)
For the O (Observation) part, I immediately had a question for God: “What does it mean to have joy when I encounter trials? When I think of joy, I think of a jump-up-and-down feeling of elation. Is that feeling even possible in the midst of trials?”
First, I looked for the “big picture” concept of the passage. What I observed is that James is outlining a healthy progression of spiritual growth:
Trials => testing of our faith => endurance => maturity
Then, I dug into the passage, searching for the hidden treasures of understanding and wisdom. First, I looked at the original language for some of the key words, using a Greek lexicon:
Trials = adversities (Strong’s Greek Dictionary) – as I expected.
Joy = calm delight. (Strong’s Greek Dictionary) – This is really helpful for my understanding. We are not being exhorted to have an exuberant feeling of elation, but rather a calm delight.
Then I looked at this passage in some other translations for additional insights:
All joy:
“…wholly joyful…” (Amplified Bible)
“… a great joy…” (CSB)
“… pure joy…” (ISV)
Consider:
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. (James 1:2 NLT)
With these insights, I was ready to move into the A (Application) part, asking myself the SPECK application questions:
S — Is there a Sin to avoid?
P — Is there a Promise to claim?
E — Is there an Example to follow?
C — Is there a Command to obey?
K — Is there something to Know about God?
Here are a few of my applications:
· When a trial comes my way, I will consider it an opportunity to choose. I am not a victim of the situation with no choices. I can choose to either pass or fail this testing of my faith. God is giving me a choice in that moment. I can either recognize that He is with me in that hard moment, or not.
· When a trial comes my way, I have an opportunity to choose calm delight, knowing that God is with me in that hard moment, and knowing that God will use it to develop in me faith, endurance and maturity in the days ahead.
· When a trial comes my way, I will consider it all calm delight, rather than a mixture of good and bad.
· The fact that God will use my trials to develop in me faith, endurance, and maturity is a stated fact (not a maybe) in this passage. I will therefore consider it a promise of Scripture that I claim.
Then, after discovering these applications, I headed into the P (Prayer) part:
O God, I now see that trials present me with a choice: to either walk in faith with You, or to try to make it on my own. I purpose to always choose the “calm delight” of recognizing Your comforting presence. I will do this in my current trials and challenges. I also recognize, and am comforted by, the fact that this verse emphatically states that You will use this trial to develop in me faith, endurance, and maturity. So, I claim this as a promise of Scripture. Because of this assurance of spiritual development through the trial, I will choose to ignore the difficulty of the moment and instead focus on the aspects of the situation that are “calm delight.” God, thank You for this fresh revelation of Your goodness, mercy, and faithfulness toward me. I worship You with all my heart! In Jesus’ mighty name I pray. Amen.
As a reminder: We are not to merely read the Bible. Instead, we are to eat, ingest, and devour the Bible! This is the pathway to engrafting the Bible into our soul.
When your words came, I ate [consumed, ingested, devoured] them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, Lord God Almighty. (Jeremiah 15:16 NIV)
Today, I encourage you to "Reflect on This."