Finding Purpose in Your Pain

If you have ever had an EKG (electrocardiogram) done on your heart, you know that the end result is a graph should look something like this.

In essence, the EKG shows you how well your heart is beating. If you see a regular rhythm of ups and downs on the graph, it means that your heart is beating the way God designed it to beat. It’s a great sign that you are growing and maturing as a human.

If the EKG flatlines, it sadly means that our life is over.

The EKG is also a good representation of our faith journey. As much as we would like to coast and for life to be easy, we need a regular rhythm of ups and downs in life to become who God designed us to be. The minute we find ourselves wanting to coast, or flatline in our faith, that’s when we have lost our God given purpose.

This is what James is trying to tell us in his letter to the church in Jerusalem. He is writing to a group of Jewish Christians who have been scattered throughout the Roman empire. They are being heavily persecuted for their faith and many of them aren’t sure if they will see tomorrow morning.