“Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.”
James 5:13-15 NIV
How often have we overthought a problem in our lives? We ponder our circumstances and then begin to develop OUR plan on how to address the issue before us. Maybe it is my age, but I like simple and direct actions that can deal with my problems without a lot of stress. James offers us this kind of action plan for our lives in these verses today. I want you to notice the simplicity of these actions. In trouble, pray to the one who can truly change your circumstances. If you are happy praise the Lord for all his blessings. If you are sick, call for prayer and anointing.
But I want to see what the results: healing, restoration and forgiveness. We are seeing the fruit of living this way in these verses as well. We will be blessed in the good times and the bad, in sickness and health. For it says “the Lord will raise them up! If God touches our lives we will be blessed. What are we do when the issues of our lives come? We are to do what these verses tell us- draw bear to God, pray to him, praise him and trust him.
It is there in his presence we will find the fullness of God for our lives!
In Christ
RJ