Brothers and sisters, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. James 1:2-3
Count It All Joy?
Really! My cell phone’s been hacked!
Early yesterday morning I was checking emails when a warning box came on my phone that said, “You have a virus! Click here immediately to fix.” Perhaps because I was still half dazed from a heavy sleep, I did what I never do in such cases. Yes, I clicked!
Oh, NOOOOO!
In that instant my phone took on a life of its own—loading this, canceling that, leaving me with a pale blue screen that led to NOWHERE! Suddenly, there came an onslaught of fear as I saw that Mission Impossible scene where within seconds the phone smokes and vanishes.
I spoke to friend, Martha, once a computer teacher, who had always warned not to fall for such nonsense. “There was this virus warning.” I whimpered, “And I clicked on it.”
Her sweet southern voice flipped to a dire tone as she solemnly crooned, “Oh, dear.” The clamp of anxiety barreled in to crush my chest. Visions of losing all my every-single-thing on that phone danced in my head. “Is it all backed up in the cloud?” Martha asked.
I shrugged. “I’m not so good about all that.” I made a mental note to get better at it. Then those verses in James (above) glided in for a stop in my mind. OK, I’m supposed to enjoy this “trial” because it is helping me to grow patience? Really? But, in spite of myself, my angst soon shifted to peace.
Well, who doesn’t need more patience?
So, I decided to ask God to help me calm the anxious pounding in my heart. It worked! Suddenly, I knew this whole deal was nothing more than a “testing” of my faith to increase my patience. Over coffee I decided to take a trip down to the Verizon store for some hands-on expertise. If anybody could help, it would be them.
Wow! The amazing Kita came to my rescue. “Oh, you haven’t been hacked. You just downloaded this cleaning app. They tell you that you have a virus so you’ll get their app. Let’s remove it.” What a relief! Not only did she remove that app, she went on to eliminate quite a few others that were useless to me, and to give me a discount on my monthly billing!
Lesson Learned
My phone is in great shape now. Much better than before this fiasco. See? The whole crazy thing was for my good, no, for my best! I thought: Remember this the next time some nutty difficulty drops in your lap.
We might find ourselves in unpleasant or even scary circumstances at times, but it is up to us to put our faith and trust in God. He always has a plan to see us through—a good one! Truth is, “the testing of your faith,” really and truly does produce patience—not only in the moment, but also for the next test. And maybe, just maybe, that one won’t be quite as hard.
Kay Harper-God is Big 