The opening verses of James are familiar to anyone who has been in the church for a while. But when we slow down long enough to consider them closely, we have to ask some questions.
“Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.”
James 1:2–4, CSB
The first thing that I notice is that we are commanded to have great joy when experiencing trials. This is counterintuitive in that we are conditioned to avoid trials. I know that I am more inclined to pursue comfort rather than trials.
It is interesting to me that this is a command. We are not encouraged to try and have joy. He does not say we might have joy eventually. James is saying that we need to choose joy in the circumstance. How is that even possible?
Regular readers of this blog will probably see a pattern here because again it comes down to trust. Do I trust God enough to be able to have joy when my circumstances militate against joy? Do I trust that nothing takes place outside of God’s superintendence? Do I trust that God will somehow get me through the difficulty?
James gives us a reason for considering trials as a means of having joy. He tells us that the trials will produce endurance.
The way I have historically understood this is that I need to step back and take a long term view of the situation and see that I will grow as a result of the trial. And while this is true, I still find it hard to have joy in the necessity of enduring the trial. “Grin and bear it” is the best I can do on my own.
I am finding that God is using my circumstances to teach me the lesson that I am not in control of my circumstances. Or, at least, I have very limited control over them, and even my limited control is a gift from God.
The verb translated consider carries the idea of thinking it through and coming to a conclusion. This is far different than a snap reaction to our trials. I think that James is encouraging us to slow down our reaction and think it through to determine the correct response.
Did you notice that not only should we think of joy when we encounter trials, we should think it to be a great joy.
Yup. I will need a little help with that.
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