Opening illustration: After William Carey was well established in his pioneer missionary work in India, his supporters in England sent a printer to assist him. Soon the two men were turning out portions of the Bible for distribution. Carey had spent many years learning the language so that he could produce the scriptures in the local dialect. He had also prepared dictionaries and grammars for the use of his successors.
One day while Carey was away, a fire broke out and completely destroyed the building, the presses, many Bibles, and the precious manuscripts, dictionaries, and grammars. When he returned and was told of the tragic loss, he showed no sign of despair or impatience. Instead, he knelt and thanked God that he still had the strength to do the work over again. He started immediately, not wasting a moment in self-pity. Before his death, he had duplicated and even improved on his earlier achievements.
Introduction: The Word of God teaches us to be joyful under troubles: such exercises are sent from God’s love; and trials in the way of duty will brighten our graces now and our crown at last. Let us take care, in times of trial, that patience, and not passion, is set to work in us: whatever is said or done, let patience have the saying and doing of it. When the work of patience is complete, it will furnish all that is necessary for our Christian race and warfare. We should not pray so much for the removal of affliction, as for wisdom to make a right use of it. And who does not want wisdom to guide him under trials, both in regulating his own spirit, and in managing his affairs? Here is something in answer to every discouraging turn of the mind, when we go to God under a sense of our own weakness and folly. If, after all, any should say, this may be the case with some, but I fear I shall not succeed, the promise is, to any that asks it shall be given. A mind that has single and prevailing regard to its spiritual and eternal interest, and that keeps steady in its purposes for God, will grow wise by afflictions, will continue fervent in devotion, and rise above trials and oppositions. When our faith and spirits rise and fall with second causes, there will be unsteadiness in our words and actions. This may not always expose men to contempt in the world, but such ways cannot please God. No condition of life is such as to hinder rejoicing in God. Those of low degree may rejoice, if they are exalted to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom of God; and the rich may rejoice in humbling providences that lead to a humble and lowly disposition of mind. Worldly wealth is a withering thing. Then, let him that is rich rejoice in the grace of God, which makes and keeps him humble; and in the trials and exercises which teach him to seek happiness in and from God, not from perishing enjoyments. It is not every man who suffers, that is blessed; but he who with patience and constancy goes through all difficulties in the way of duty. Afflictions cannot make us miserable, if it be not our own fault. The tried Christian shall be a crowned one. The crown of life is promised to all who have the love of God reigning in their hearts. Every soul that truly loves God shall have its trials in this world fully recompensed in that world above, where love is made perfect. The commands of God, and the dealings of his providence, try men’s hearts, and show the dispositions which prevail in them.
1. Kinds of Trials (v. 2)
Becoming a Christian does not automatically exclude a believer from difficulties. James does not say if you face trials, but whenever you face them, assuming that we will have trials and that it is possible to profit from them. The proper attitude in meeting adversity is to count it all joy, which is not an emotional reaction but a deliberate intelligent appraisal of the situation from God’s perspective, viewing trials as a means of moral and spiritual growth. The point is not to pretend to be happy when we face trials but to have a positive outlook because of what they can produce in our lives. We do not rejoice in trials themselves, but in their possible results. The trials can be turned into times of learning ~ to be patient and perseverant. Testing carries the idea of proving genuineness. Trials serve as a discipline to purge faith of dross, stripping away what is false. Patience is not a passive resignation to adverse circumstances, but a positive steadfastness that bravely endures. Instead of murmuring and grumbling over trials and temptations, rejoice in them.
God uses many different kinds of trials in our lives in order to mold, awaken, and mature us, i.e., to make us lovely, Christ-like people. These sources for trial can be compared to various things in life, for example, a hammer, a file, or a furnace. A. W. Tozer explains,
(a) Now, the hammer is a useful tool but the nail, if it had feelings and intelligence, could present another side of the story. For the nail knows the hammer only as an opponent, a brutal, merciless enemy who lives to pound it into submission, to beat it down out of sight and clinch it into place. That is the nail’s view of the hammer, and it is accurate, except for one thing: The nail forgets that both it and the hammer are servants of the same workman. Let the nail but remember that the hammer is held by the workman and all resentment toward it will disappear. The carpenter decides whose head will be beaten next and what hammer shall be used in the beating. That is his sovereign right. When the nail has surrendered to the will of the workman and has gotten a little glimpse of his benign plans for its future it will yield to the hammer without complaint.
(b) The file is more painful still, for its business is to bite into the soft metal, scraping and eating away the edges till it has shaped the metal to its will. Yet the file has, in truth, no real will in the matter, but serves another master, as the metal also does. It is the master and not the file that decides how much shall be eaten away, what shape the metal shall take, and how long the painful filing shall continue. Let the metal accept the will of the master and it will not try to dictate when or how it shall be filed.
(c) As for the furnace it is the worst of all. Ruthless and savage, it leaps at every combustible thing that enters it and never relaxes its fury till it has reduced it all to shapeless ashes. All that refuses to burn is melted to a mass of helpless matter, without will or purpose of its own. When everything is melted that will melt and all is burned that will burn, then and not till then the furnace calms down and rests from its destructive fury.
Sometimes God uses a hammer-at least it feels that way-and at other times he uses a painful file. He even uses a furnace, though perhaps not as often, being ever mindful that we are made of dust. Trials are gut wrenching and drawn out at times, but the one thing that you must know, Christian, is that God is with you through the whole ordeal. He has focused all his energies on you and will never leave your side, though for a moment it may seem as if he’s abandoned your heart and fled from your thoughts.
Trials and tests are no fun. But James doesn’t tell us to consider it fun! He tells us to "consider it all joy." Going to Disney’s Theme Park is fun. Suffering daily with illness, losing a business, or grief through any form of loss...well, that’s not fun! But such trials can be processed with joy, be they a hammer, file, or furnace! Yet you ask, "How in the world can a person consider the trials which have surrounded them, like a pack of hungry wolves, all joy?
2. Purpose (Results) of Trials (vs. 3 – 4)
Now there are various reasons why we suffer. Sometimes we suffer because we’ve made patently impetuous and poor decisions. And so we’re in the process of reaping what we’ve sown and God permits it to teach us that His glory and our good are all that matter to Him. This does not mean that you cannot ask God to end the trial. He may say "No," but in his infinite wisdom and mercy He may grant your request as you humble your heart and return to your Savior. It may, however, be better to ask for wisdom in the midst of a trial, rather than ask God to immediately end it. Nonetheless, God is infinitely merciful, taking delight in His people and listening to their cries for help (Exodus 3: 7)!
But there are seasons in our lives when we suffer though we’ve not sinned in any specific way. We all realize that we sin each and every day of our lives, but that is not the same thing as committing a particularly egregious sin or developing an ongoing pattern of unbelief or moral impurity. In short, there are times when we suffer-whether at the hands of other people or circumstances God sends our way-simply because God is working in our lives to purify, strengthen, and enlarge the room in our hearts for Him. So has God brought a hammer into your life lately? Is He working away with a file? Or do you feel like you’re in the furnace right now? What is God’s overall wisdom to us in these circumstances?
(a) To make us perfect ~ does not denote absolute sinlessness, but carries the idea of being fully developed or mature.
(b) To make us complete ~ underscores the thought of fullness and wholeness this is offered to God for His service. Bit by bit it removes the disfiguring and disqualifying blemishes. Assists us to conquer over the old sins and contemporary sins.
(c) To make us deficient in nothing ~ the Greek word used here is in context of the defeat of an enemy pertaining to our struggles. If we meet our tests and trials in the right way, we can live a victorious life.
We can’t really know the depth of our character until we see how we react under pressure. It is easy to be kind to others when everything is going well, but can we still be kind when others are treating us unfairly? God wants to make us mature and complete, not to keep us from all pain. Instead of complaining about our struggles, we should see them as opportunities for growth. Ask God to strengthen you to endure the trials.
3. Response to Trials (vs. 5 – 12)
‘Lack’ in Greek means wanting or desiring. By ‘Wisdom’ James is talking not only about knowledge, but about the ability to make wise decisions in difficult circumstances. We must ask God for His wisdom to guide our choices and practical discernment. This begins with reverence for God, leads to right living, and results in increased ability to tell right from wrong. God is willing to give us wisdom but due to our self-focus we tend to mess it up. When we are God-centered, He doesn’t hesitate to impart Godly wisdom to us.
v. 8 A double-minded man is a person drawn in two opposite directions. A mind that wavers is not completely convinced that God’s way is best (it may seem unattractive and not lining up with the worldly standards). His allegiance is divided and because of his lack of sincerity he vacillates between belief and disbelief, sometimes thinking that God will help him and at other times giving up all hope in Him. Such a person is unstable in all his ways, not only in his prayer life. The lack of consistency in his exercise of faith betrays his general character. To stabilize your wavering or doubtful mind, commit yourself wholeheartedly to God.
‘Rejoice’ in v. 9 denotes ‘glory in his exaltation.’ Both poverty and prosperity are concrete examples of trials that test our faith. Either may result in spiritual disaster. The Christian who is poor materially can rejoice in his spiritual position as a child of God, while the rich person can rejoice in new values, realizing the temporal nature of earthly wealth as opposed to the eternal benefits of spiritual possessions.
Fade away refers to the certain destruction of people who are rich only in temporal things. In Ecclesiastes 1: 14 it says ~ “I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind.”
Why do we give so much importance to our bank balances, power and status quo when these mean nothing to God? Do your material possessions give you goals and your only reason for living? If they were gone, what would be left? What you have in your heart, not your bank balance, matters to God and endures for eternity.
But how should we respond to Trials? Sometimes we balk at the very thought of it. It’s unthinkable to us that our heavenly Father would even permit, let alone design trial into his plan for our lives. We persist in this illusion even though scripture clearly teaches us that God creates both light and the darkness, peace and calamity, though only for our good.
But again, James doesn’t say, "Deny that you’re in a real tough battle right now." He doesn’t say, "Deaden the pain though binging and purging, through more movies, through other forms of escapism." He actually tells us to consider our trials, that is, he encourages us to give careful thought to what’s going on in our lives. And he tells us to do so in a certain way, because of what will happen in and through us as a result. That’s materially different.
Why should we consider the trials in our lives with all joy?
Answer: Because we know what trials accomplish in us. We are being tested so that we might look more like Christ in terms of patience/endurance. In short, we are being tested so that we might become mature and complete, with a pure and undefiled faith. We go through testing so that we might not lack anything!
Have you seriously considered that before? If you deeply want to grow in Christ, to enjoy greater intimacy with Him, and to reflect his persevering heart in your experience, then welcome trials with joy. Like the words of faithful friends, they cut deep, but in the end, you’re a more Christ-like Christian! In the end, your family benefits. In the end, the church is blessed. In the end, the world is changed!
But there’s a second reality that empowers us toward rejoicing and joy in the midst of trials and it is this: if we’re being tested, there must be Someone giving the test! Thus we know that we are not suffering for something, but for and with Someone...We’re suffering at the nail-pierced, blood-stained hands of Christ Himself. He has designed the particular trial through which we’re passing and He will carry us in it-carry us, I say, with those blood-stained hands!
v. 12 The crown of life is like the victory wreath given to winning athletes. God’s crown of life in not glory and honor here on earth but the reward of eternal life. Those who remain steadfast under testing and each one who passed the test/trial in life would be given the crown of life.
Conclusion: So, if you know Him and today there are no particularly difficult trials in your life, consider yourself blessed and thank the Lord. But if you know Him, and you’re passing through the fire today, then consider it all joy; welcome the various and diverse trials as old friends! Know that it is Christ himself who is working out his great plan in your life and that nothing can separate you from His love (Romans 8: 38 - 39). He is only working spiritual fruit in you so that you might be mature and complete and that you might in turn enjoy Him more.
Final illustration: Joe Scriven was a missionary from Ireland to Canada, working among the Iroquois Indians. He was joined by his fiancé who was also from Ireland. Just before the wedding, she was killed in an ice accident. Joe buried her with his own hands, and a broken heart. A year later, in a letter to his mother, he reflected,
"What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged. Take it to the Lord in prayer." Joe was on the road to triumph, even though there were times when the road was rough.
