James 1:2-4 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

One of the church’s most popular old hymns is ‘Now Thank We All Our God’. It was written by Martin Rinkart in the early 1600s. He was a Lutheran pastor in the town of Eilenburg in Saxony during Germany’s Thirty Years War. Eilenburg was a walled city, so it became a haven for refugees seeking safety from the fighting. Tragically, with overcrowding and food scarcity, a plague and famine decimated those gathered, such that Eilenburg became a giant morgue. In one year alone, Pastor Rinkart conducted funerals for 4,500 people, including that of his own wife. The war dragged on and on. Yet through it all, he never lost courage or faith, and it was during the darkest days of Eilenburg’s agony that he was able to write this hymn:

‘Now thank we all our God,
with hearts and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things hath done,
In whom the world rejoices
keep us in His grace,
and guide us when perplexed,
and free us from all ills,
in this world and the next.’

Remarkable! Rinkart kept focused on God’s promises of heaven even whilst going through a living hell. He kept pouring out God’s love in a world filled with hate. He kept lifting his sights to a higher plane although buried deep in destruction. He was able to cling to hope in the pits of despair. So can we try to do the same?

Trials are never pleasurable at the time, but as the above verse tells us, “the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

Lord, I choose to embrace the path to maturity and completion, however painful. Fill me with joy, hope, and the ability to persevere today through all circumstances, for your glory. Amen!

Recorded in 2022