In Jesus Holy Name August 27, 2006
Text: James 1:1-4,12 Pentecost XII, Redeemer
“When Storms and Troubles Won’t Go Away”
The Book of James 2nd in the Series
Max Lucado in his book “Eye of the Storm” tells this story:
Chippie the parakeet never saw it coming. Once second he was peacefully perched in his cage. The next he was sucked in, washed up, and blown over.
The problems began when Chippie’s owner decided to clean Chippie’s cage with a vacuum cleaner. She removed the attachments from the end of the hose and stuck it in the cage. The phone rang, and she turned to pick it up. She’d barely said “hello” when “ssssssssssssssopp!” chippie got sucked in.
The bird owner gasped, put down the phone, turned off the vacuum and opened the bag. There was Chippie….still alive, but stunned.
Since the bird was covered with dust and soot, she grabbed him and raced to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and held Chippie under the running water. Then, realizing that Chippie was soaked and shivering, she did what any compassionate bird owner would do…. She reached for the hair dryer and blasted the pet with hot air.
Poor Chippie never knew what hit him.
A few days after the trauma, the reporter who’d initially written about the event contacted Chippie’s owner to see how the bird was recovering. “Well”, she replied, “Chippie doesn’t’ sing much any more….he just sits and stares.”
It’s hard to see why. Sucked in, washed up, and blown over… That’s enough to steal the song from the stoutest heart.
Have you ever felt sucked in, washed up, and blown over? Heartaches, troubles, sickness, disease, suffering, trials and temptations come into our lives. Christians are not immune from these events. When these painful events come we may not be able to control their duration or severity, but James wants to remind us that these “trials” will test our faith and we will grow in our faith.
The first truth from James reminds us (read v 2) troubles, storms, trials are inevitable. Unhappy and painful things do happen to people who trust God. It is interesting that James did not say…. “ count it all joy”, consider yourself fortunate IF… That would be like saying…. Be prepared if you must pay your taxes. Be prepared if yuou must some day die. There will be trials, storms which come to us in the course of living life. Being a Christian is not a “pass card” out of this world’s troubles.
The second truth that James wants to teach us is that God can and will use trials to: 1) develop perseverance…. Which moves us closer to spiritual maturity (Eph. 4:13) 2) It gives us an opportunity to ask for wisdom 3) When we have stood the test we will receive a crown of eternal life which God has promised to those who love him.
Frequently we take trials or tests as a personal offense. “What is God doing to me?” Trials and storms come and when we are in the corner, having exhausted all our own efforts we will turn our face toward God.
Storms and trials may sweep down upon us from different directions and for different reasons. 1) Sometimes Satan causes the storm. 2) Sometimes people cause a storm or trial to come our way. They might bring us an emotional trial, by creating stress at work, or the company might down size, or performance levels might change. Health issues can cause trials to come. 3) Sometimes you and I cause the storm by decisions we make that bring consequences. 4) Some times God sends the storm.
Warren Wiersbe made this observation that the trials of life are not all alike. They are like multicolored yarn that the weaver uses to make a beautiful rug. God arranges and mixes the colours and experiences of life. The final product will work to reveal the same things.
1) the nature of my faith
2) the strength of my commitment
3) the level of my maturity
4) the health of my attitude
5) the measure of my teachability.
If you’ve ever experienced a hurricane, or a tornado, or an extremely strong storm they can be very revealing….if only to show us where our roof leaks.
Storms underline our need for a hiding place. I can tell you that the best place to be in a tornado in Missouri is the southwest corner of the basement. As a Christian the best hiding place is the unmovable, unchangeable, uncompromising, eternal wall of God’s word. And so Luther could write “A mighty fortress is our God”, our shield and protector..”
James tells us to “count it all joy”… not easy… yet his point deals with our “attitude” when trials come… and they will. The only way God can develop patience and character in our lives is through trials, not prayer, not sermons.
Learning from a trial requires a decision. We need to believe in our hearts …. In advance…. That God loves us and that even though we may not understand… He has promised to bring something good from the experience. We are all familiar with the words of Paul in Romans: “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him…” (Romans 10:28)
James 1:6 “Believe and do not doubt…. Ask for wisdom.” God’s goal for us is spiritual maturity. It would be tragic if our little children remained babies. It would be tragic if a parent carried their child everywhere because they were afraid if they walked they might fall down and hurt themselves. A parent wants to naturally shelter their child from the dangers of life. But we can’t.
Many Christians make the mistake of trying to shelter themselves from the trials of life and as a result they never grow up. How can you tell? Because they keep experiencing the trial over and over again.
So, when unexpected trials and storms come into our life how should we respond?
“Count it all joy…” why? 1) Because you know that God can bring something good from the trial. God is a fortress a might rock to which we can anchor. 2) God will use the trial to develop perseverance….so that we will become mature.
Closing story: One day a farmer’s donkey fell down a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway, it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey. So he invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. As first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone’s amazement, he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed, as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off1
Moral: Life is gong to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of your trials is a stepping stone. Storms and trials are inevitable. They can be caused by Satan, by other people, by our own actions and sometimes by the Lord.
God can use these events to build our character, our endurance and our faith so that we will reach spiritual maturity.
“Blessed is the on who perseveres under trial because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.” James 1:12)
James offers advice on how to handle trials:
1) count it joy… a joyful attitude v. 2
2) know…an understanding mind v. 3
3)
