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Over the last four years, I have been working my way through seminary towards a Master of Divinity degree. I am on the last leg of my journey—planning (Lord-willing!) to graduate this May! There have been many times my faith has been tested; to say it another way, I have been through many trials over the last four years. However, one trial that I was not planning on meeting (as is the nature of trials) is something that I wrestled with during my senior year in college: “Senioritis.”

Now, this “condition” has not been recognized by doctors, but it does have a dictionary definition! According to Meriam Webster, ‘Senioritis’ is described as “an ebbing of motivation and effort by school seniors as evidenced by tardiness, absences, and lower grades.” Put bluntly, ‘Senioritis’ is a less obtrusive way of saying, “I am wrestling with feeling lazy and apathetic.”

How does James 1:1-4 relate to this trial I am facing? It applies a great deal! For one, I am to “count” or reckon this trial as something that will make my faith mature because it produces steadfastness. My natural tendency is to bemoan this trial, counting it as a loss (e.g., giving into despair) rather than acknowledging it as a win. Instead, I must recognize that God is allowing me to wrestle with these feelings so that weaknesses in my faith are revealed, and so growth can take place.

I must also let steadfastness “have its full effect” (the maturity of my faith) by not valuing comfort or escape. When dealing with feelings of apathy and laziness, I am directly facing the temptation of both giving up (too soon), by wrong patterns of activity (escaping to my phone when I feel stressed), and refusing to give up on (all-too-common) patterns of wrong thinking (“It’s too hard.” “What’s the point?”). Rather than value comfort and escape, I need to endure, which practically looks like setting aside distractions (my phone!), not giving into thoughts of despair, and finishing my homework.

It is my desire that sharing a trial I am facing and how I seek to “count” it will cause you to think about trials in your life and how you can count them as “all joy!”