A short "ah-ha" moment below:
Psalm 18:46 The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted. 47 It is God who avenges me, And subdues the peoples under me; 48 He delivers me from my enemies. You also lift me up above those who rise against me; You have delivered me from the violent man. 49 Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the Gentiles, And sing praises to Your name. (NKJV)
We see here and in many places in Psalms that David is thankful and full of praise to God who delivered him from the hands of his enemies, from the Gentiles etc.
For us, yes we have salvation, but we too must be thankful and mindful how He has set us free from the curses of the world. In the spiritual realm, we have been set free and are victorious, the head not the tail. The victory we have includes victory over all curses, including
- sicknesses and diseases
- poverty
- persecution
- evil of every kind
Does this mean we do not get affected by these? No - in fact the Lord Himself said
John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (NKJV)
(boldfaces mine)
The higher truth that we give thanks and are full of praise for is that He has overcome the world on our behalf. For this, we must be mindful of and we give thanks and praise to Him for it.
We walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7). Let's thank and praise Him in all our tribulations in this world, not for them, for He has overcome them! It is in this context that James mentions:
James 1: 2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. (NKJV)
Note that trials test our faith, not our patience. In each trial we have the choice of believing which is true, the reality we perceive with our 5 senses ("In the world you will have tribulation") or God's promise ("but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world"). When we put our faith in Jesus and His Word, we develop patience.
I pray this short, simple sharing blesses you!
