One count, one beat makes a difference in life’s cadence—discouragement, delay, and disappointment from unwelcomed circumstances can bring your life’s march to a standstill. And without the proper response, circumstances can hinder your mental attitude and ruin a whole day, week, or year if you let it.
Yet “life happens” to everyone. People endure hardships, loss, grief, and devastation daily. There’s a saying that someone’s situation is always worse than yours. But that brings little solace during your crisis. You can’t see beyond your circumstance. Your vision is clouded by present troubles.
Still, it’s crucial to consider why some move past hardship while others stay stuck? My answer?
The difference is in “the count.”
The Apostle James said, “Count it all joy when you fall into diverse trials, knowing that the trying of your faith brings forth patience. And let patience have her perfect work, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (James 1:2-4 RGT). Other translations replace the word count with consider. So the difference is how we count or consider the circumstance. If you mark time with resentment, sadness, and a persecution complex, your count will be off, and so will your life’s cadence. However, you will move forward if you change your perspective and consider the present circumstance a stepping stone to growth and maturity. You won’t miss a beat.
The world calls this grit.
According to Angela Duckworth, a University of Pennsylvania professor and psychologist, grit is the single biggest predictor of success.[1] The Scripture calls it “patience having her perfect work”—perseverance beyond circumstances.
So the next time you meet an unwelcomed circumstance, check your count. Thank God for the maturing opportunity, and trust that He will see you through it. It’s not trivial; it’s not easy, but your perspective and perseverance—your grit—will make all the difference.
Finally, consider the words of Apostle Paul: “I am single-minded: Forgetting the things that are behind and reaching out for the things that are ahead, with this goal in mind, I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, let those of us who are “perfect” embrace this point of view. If you think otherwise, God will reveal to you the error of your ways” (Philippians 3:13-15 NET).
You are one count past your circumstances. You, too, can press on.
Lenita Reeves
[1] Body20, “Why Grit Is The True Determining Factor Of Success,” February 13, 2018. Entrepreneur.com, accessed April 14, 2023, https://www.entrepreneur.com/en-za/franchises/why-grit-is-the-true-determining-factor-of-success/330388.
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Lenita is the senior pastor of Action Chapel Baltimore and Action Chapel North Carolina churches. She is an author of nine books, international speaker, founder of PrayerWatch with Pastor Lenita, and creator of the Purpose/full Institute, which helps people discover and hone their divine purpose. She is a former Accenture consultant with college teaching experience, professional instructional design experience, a member of the RAINN speaker’s bureau, a trained pastoral counselor, and a Christian International/Bishop Hamon authorized prophetic instructor. Sign up to connect, receive more blog posts, and updates on courses, books, and events.