A STRANGE EXHORTATION
James 1:2-4 Living Bible (TLB)
2 Dear brothers, is your life full of difficulties and temptations? Then be
happy, 3 for when the way is rough, your patience has a chance
to grow. 4 So let it grow, and don’t try to squirm out of your
problems. For when your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be
ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete.
COUNTING IT ALL JOY IN
TIMES OF TRIAL
The Apostle James is one of my favorite Gospel writers. He is
direct, and downright practical. He doesn’t mince words when he talks about the
subject of faith which he asserts should be a living faith. In the first
chapter of his Epistle, he begins to
deal with the subject of trials and
temptations. These are objective realities which confront everyone of us
especially Christians. The great Apostle directly confronts the believer not to
have the wrong impression that when one comes to faith in Christ Jesus
everything will fall into place, and life, will proverbially be, a bed of roses
so that when trials, or tough times come, one begins to question “Why?” On the
contrary the good Apostle might probably answer “Why not?”
There is a popular theology today known as the health and wealth gospel. The problem with
this gospel is that it contradicts the true gospel, and goes against the
historical experience of God’s people through the generations. The remarkable
history of trials, and testing.
The great Apostle Peter dealt with the same subject in his
Epistle reminding the believers that for a little while, if need be, they have
been grieved by various trials. (1 Peter 1:6-9).
“In this you greatly
rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all
kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold,
which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result
in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not
seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in
him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are
receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:6-9).
The James passage clearly states that the testing of our
faith produces perseverance. And the Peter passage states that our faith, which
is priceless, will be proved genuine and result in praise to God.
It is clear that Christians are not immune from trials and
temptations because if we look closely at the writings of the two Apostles, they
tell us we should even welcome them and
rejoice in them so that the genuineness of our faith may be tested and given a
chance to grow.
St. James teaches that when we face trials of any kind, we
should consider them joy. How are we supposed to do that?
Trials, difficulties, hardships, adversities, misfortunes, do
not bring joy. They bring sadness, pain, unhappiness, fear, suffering, and anguish.
We need to confront the teaching of James with honesty
because this is a tough issue. How in the world are we going to count it joy
when we fall into various trials. Can we Christians do that?
Those who would argue that we should do so, have failed to
grasp the real meaning of the exhortation. Counting it all joy when you fall
into trials does not mean that we simply are to falsely rejoice in hardships,
or we simply are to rejoice by putting up a strong face, like a stoic
philosopher pretending and acting as if everything is fine when things are
hard.
St. James seems to teach that we have to use trials and
hardships as means to strengthen our character and develop our ability to
endure the difficulties of life.
Let’ go back to James. He said count it all joy or be happy
when you are surrounded by trials of every sort. What a very strange statement.
How can there be joy in trying times? St. James is getting across the message
that our faith can only be tested in the crucible or fire of testing and temptation.
THE TESTING OF OUR
FAITH PRODUCES PATIENCE
James is dogmatic in proclaiming that the testing of our
faith produces patience. James addressed his epistle to the Jews who were
scattered abroad. There was the dispersal of the Jews throughout the world. This was a national
tragedy for them. They experienced diverse trials. James exhorted them saying,
“Count it all joy when you are surrounded by trials of every sort” “for when
the way is rough your patience has a chance to grow”.
Patience is a godly virtue which is very hard to achieve in
this age where everything is quick and fast. We push buttons and get quick
results. We eat fast-food served in less than a minute. We go to places
with speed. We hate it when we are made to wait. We discard gadgets which are
slow and replace them with the latest versions which are faster or fastest.
Waiting is a torture for some. We are short tempered as we are impatient.
The Greek word patience translated in the New Testament is a
compound word. It is a preposition meaning “endure” and a verb meaning “to
abide”. Patience means to abide, endure and hold steady whatever the condition.
There are two aspects in the word patience in the context of
Scripture. Patience may be passive- that is steadfastness without agitation or
reactive action or avoidance. Patience may be active- a bearing of the load. Both aspects according
to St. James are profitable in the Christian life.
“Be patient,” James said, “as you wait for the coming of the
Lord.”
Waiting is not a useless, waste of time. It may be
viewed as passive but actually it is active, for in the course of waiting
something is happening, which will bear fruit at the right time. To the
believers the coming of the Lord is the most awaited event. They do not know exactly
know, when, but they observe and wait for the signs and the seasons, and are
assured that the Lord’s coming is certain. It would take a lot of patient
waiting to welcome His arrival.
The Apostle James affirms patience as helpful in perfecting
the Christian life. One does not stand in his own strength in occasions which
call for patience, for God empowers him to be steadfast. The Bible does not
convey the message that the followers and disciples of Christ would have easy,
comfortable, trouble free, prosperous lives, all the way. The journey of the
Christian is not smooth all the way. There are bumps, curves, valleys, plains,
hills, rocks, deserts, and wilderness..
The apostle James seems to imply that the key is to look at
the trials from an intellectual not an emotional perspective. If one should
view the various trials he undergoes from God’s perspective and recognize them,
as producing something very valuable in his life, notwithstanding the
unpleasant experience, the benefits derived is joy.
There is no joy in the trial itself, but the benefits derived
are joyful.
Job describes it this way: But He knoweth the way that I take; when He hath tried me I shall come
forth as gold. (Job 23:10)
The Apostle James uses the phrase “the testing of your faith”
which calls for the proving of our faith. Faith can grow and be refined by
being tested.
Patience grows out of trials. Faith develops and become
steadfast in trials. As muscles develop strength by being used and made to
endure heavy lifting, patience develops and grows from the exercise of faith.
We are encouraged to apply the grace of patience in our lives. We need to seek
God’s Hand in our trials and trust Him, even if we do not understand what is
happening and pray He will reveal what He is teaching us in these trying times.
St. James says, “Let patience have its perfect work.”
TRIALS PRODUCE GROWTH
AND MATURITY
Trials produce growth and maturity. The Christian who passes
through testing under the Heavenly Father’s watchful care, will fully develop
as a mature believer.
The Apostle James is saying that no Christian can mature in faith without
undergoing the fire of testing brought about by the unpredictable circumstances of life. The testing of our
faith produces trust and belief, a confidence that God is still in control no
matter what.
We cannot develop that trust and unshakable confidence in
God's presence and power without experiencing hardships. We cannot exactly
rejoice in our hardships but we can use the hardships and trials as means of
growing in faith, as means of testing our trust and relying on God again and
again and again discovering that God never fails.
Strengthening our character means that we develop within us a
core of faith and belief, a central focus of trust in God, through the experience of enduring trials.
We live in a fallen world, and Christianity is the only religion that
teaches the fall of man, that humanity is a fallen race without hope of
redemption if not for the saving grace of God. Many of the problems we face are
the direct result of our own sinfulness, pride, self centeredness and spiritual
blindness. God does not tempt us. Pride, selfishness, lust, jealousies, anger,
hate, greed, arrogance, deceitfulness, covetousness, all these and other human
weaknesses conspire to tempt us and lead
us into problems and hardships when we give in to them. The problem with most
people is that they want to blame someone, something, or God, for their troubles and difficulties. James
said the source of our troubles is not God. He explains that we face trials and
difficulties not because these are God's intention for our life but because of
the sin nature in us.
Throughout the New Testament, we can find a common theme:
testing will come to all God’s people. The only questions are when and what
kind will they be. Times of testing are
neither an indication that we have been abandoned nor selected for an attack by the enemy. They
are the result of living in a broken world.
St. Peter addressed the whole issue when he wrote to the
suffering brothers and sisters in Rome. He said that the proper response should
be threefold: First we should rejoice, just as James said, no matter how
strange the logic is, for suffering has a far deeper purpose in building our
faith. Second we should commit ourselves to the loving care of our Heavenly
Father, and third, we should continue doing what is right, no matter what
others say or do.
There is a common perception today that in this world faith
in Christ will exempt one from hardships in life especially those associated
with one’s health, happiness and prosperity. This is not true. Preaching a
Christianity that is easy, pleasurable and indulgent is a high form of
deception. A hostile world is out there. Finances are short, expenses are
mounting, debts are overdue, a child is sick, the employer is losing, health is
failing. The strain and stress of the world are very real. When they come the
human tendency is to point an accusing
finger at circumstances, which one cannot change, or blame God for not
preventing them.
If we are to grow in our faith we should look for God’s Hand
in our trials and trust Him even in the darkness of our despair. Look for what
God is revealing to us in our trials. To the Christian, going through adversities should drive him
closer to God.
The issue is how will
God’s people respond? The people of God are not left helpless. God is
saying “Cease striving and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). Be still and know
Me, He said. He assures that “in quietness and confidence shall be your
strength” ( Isaiah 30;15).
God has given us His
promises. First He promised to be with us always. He goes with us through the
fiery trials. Second he promised to protect us. Nothing can happen to us apart
from the will and protection of our Father. Third He promised to refine us so
that we can come out pure in our faith that His power may be demonstrated in
our lives.
