O, how I love this Book of James!! He was truly my kind of guy; honest, straightforward and to the point! No beating around the bush for this guy! The Book of James has often been referred to as the “Proverbs of the New Testament” because it’s so practical; though there is some confusion as to exactly which James authored this book. Most tend to think it was the half brother of Jesus, who was also the first pastor in the church of Jerusalem, but whoever he was, God uses him to nail down some valuable truths in each believer's life!
He begins with, “Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience. But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing.”- Js 1:2-4 (AMP)
Now, if you’re anything like me, you’ve got to be thinking, “Jumping for joy when any trials comes is the LAST thing I’d be inclined to do!! Seriously!?” I can’t prove it, but I tend to think that his 1st Century readers must have felt the same way too! After all, they were faced with losing everything including their lives, families and livelihood simply for following “the Way”. James definitely knew how to grab his reader’s attention and make them want to read on, don’t you think?
We all know there are other choices we can make when those trials come. We could get angry at God and others for their role in the trial. We could definitely grow discouraged because we were hoping for an easier life with Christ at helm, and fail to allow others to see our hope in Him in the middle of all God is doing.
When I think about it that way, I think joy is a much better choice! Not joy FOR the “trials of any sort,” but joy OVER what those trials will accomplish in deepening our faith. Every choice above is a certain kind of “endurance,” but endurance without joy is not a pleasant sight to behold or endure.
If you’re in the middle of something that you know is not sin related and you have been crying out to the Lord for relief? REJOICE, because if HE is the source of your trial, we can trust Him to bring that relief and the grace to see you through it. I’m comforted by the fact that our Father is all about conforming us into the image of His Son, which is something we all want! Let’s rejoice that He loves us enough to apply any means He can to get us there!
Which makes James’ next exhortation PERFECTLY timed,
“If any of you are lacking in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him.
6 Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting). For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the billowing surge out at sea that is blown hither and thither and tossed by the wind.” -Js 1:5-6 (I’ve always believed that verses 5 & 6 must go together and can’t be separated, for v.5 comes with a condition found in v.6.)
Of course the very first thing we’ll need when those trials come is the wisdom to know what is the best way to help us endure them, right? The key is taking our questions directly to the Lord.
Only, God has placed a condition on our asking for that wisdom, which is why it’s so, so important to understand just what that condition looks like. I thought James McDonald said it best:
- “Doubt is a lack of confidence or assurance that God will keep His promises. The more you pay attention to doubt, the less you can see of God. Doubt can’t diminish God, but it can limit your view of the One who has promised to be for you! Doubt undermines wisdom.
- Faith is an active confidence that God’s promises are always true. Faith is a glimpse of the majesty and awesomeness of God that obliterates the nagging unbelief of doubts. Your faith may not be huge, but it affirms your tiny, mustard-seed confidence that God is more than enough to meet the challenges in your life. Wise living is living by faith.”
When I approach The Lord seeking His wisdom, I must trust that He is, “the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given [to me]. And I can honestly testify that in the 35 years I’ve been going to Him seeking His wisdom and claiming James 1:5-6, He has never failed to supply the wisdom I’ve asked Him for!! Never! It has always come in different ways and at different times, but it has always come, and when it does, I know without a doubt it’s the wisdom I had asked Him for!
James goes on to encourage all of us that God is not a God who shows favoritism; that all of us will experience various trials in our lives, but we will also be blessed when we have endured,
“Blessed (happy, to be envied) is the man who is patient under trial and stands up under temptation, for when he has stood the test and been approved, he will receive [the victor’s] crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him.” Js 1:12
There awaits an award for all of us in the end, so you see, we can rejoice and count it all joy when those trials come!
