While trying to help believers gain a good perspective of their temptations, James directed their focus to the inevitable outcome – patience. Among the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5 is patience. What we must understand is that patience does not grow like mushrooms; the trees that bears it are trials and temptations. Patience is never developed unless there are pressures and predicaments. Anyone could be patient when there are no demands on their time, or pleasure. The true test is revealed when we face threat to comply with what God frowns at. Other times when we go through this test is when what we desire are denied or delayed. It gets worse when those things are possible to obtain if we only can compromise our faith in Christ. Holding our ground at such moments is what produces believers after the image of Christ.

“So when you are going through tough times, know that you are at the same time growing inner resilience, and that a miracle may just be at your door.”

Apart from helping individual believers to develop the fruit of the Spirit, persecution also has a profound effect on the Body. It is a fact of history that the period of great fear of the Lord with attendant effect of holiness among believers often coincides with persecution. Here is the logic behind that. Human beings generally detest suffering. If any suffering must be entertained at all, it must be on account of a cause that is strongly believed. No one will subject themselves to suffering in the name of Christ without being a genuine Christian. Furthermore, genuine miracles are not uncommon during Christianity’s toughest days. It was when persecution was rife that the apostles were delivered miraculously from jail and told to go and preach “all the word of this life”. So when you are going through tough times, know that you are at the same time growing inner resilience, and that a miracle may just be at your door.