When Things Go Wrong
James 1:2-4
Introduction: Have you ever heard someone say, “If you were just a better Christian, then you wouldn’t have all these troubles.” Well, if you haven’t discovered it already, I am here to tell you that being a Christian does not make you immune to problems and difficulties in life. As Job said, (and he ought to know) “For man is born for trouble, as sparks fly upward.” (Job 5:7) How do you deal with problems and misfortunes that come into your life? When life gives you a lemon, do you just sit there with a sour look on your face, or do you make lemonade?
There was a small boy at school one day when it seemed everything went wrong. At first recess he skinned his knee. At lunch he fell and busted his lip. Then during third recess he suffered a broken arm. On the way home from the hospital, his father noticed the little boy clutching something in his hand. His father asked him what he had. The boy replied, “Boy this is my lucky day. I found a quarter on the playground.”
Last Sunday, Mahase talked about crisis situations that could mean the difference between life and death. This week we want to talk about those day to day situations that are more like Chinese water torture that wear us down one drop at a time. James in 1:2-4, talks to us about those times, “When you encounter various trials.” Notice that James uses the word, “when” and not “if.” Difficulties WILL come to us. As much as we would like, there is simply no avoiding problems. This should come as no surprise to us for Jesus warned us his apostles, and us, in John 16:33, “In the world you have tribulation.” These trials can come from many sources in many different forms. This morning we just want to look at three.
I. The root of trials.
A. Circumstances of life.
Like our little boy on the playground, sometimes it seems that life gangs up on us and one thing after another goes wrong. The loss of a job, illness or injury, marital problems, a random act of violence, loss of a loved one, and so on. Sometimes it seems we have more of these kinds of problems than our fair share. Some years ago, (longer than I care to admit) I heard a song called “Life Gets Teejus Don’t It.” It was written by Carson Robison but the most popular recording of it was by Walter Brennan. A few of the lines go . . .
Well, the cow’s gone dry and the hens won’t lay
And my well dried up last Saturday
My troubles keep pilin’ up day by day
And now I’m gettin’ dandruff.
Roof’s a-leakin’ and the chimney leans,
An’ there’s a hole in the seat of my old blue jeans
Now I’ve et the last of the pork an’ beans,
Just can’t depend on nothin’
Well, it’s debts and taxes and pains and woes
Aches and miseries and that’s how it goes
And now I’m getting a cold in my nose,
Life gets tasteless, don’t it.
Sometimes it just seems that “Murphy’s Law” is working overtime. You know the one that says, “If anything can go wrong it will.” The second source of trouble that we want to examine this morning is temptation.
B. Temptation.
Satan often makes strong efforts to lead us away from God. Sometimes we feel like an alcoholic locked up by ourselves in a liquor store. Temptation seems to come when we least expect it and are least prepared to deal with it. When did the devil tempt Jesus (Matt. 4:1-11)? After he had spent 40 days in the wilderness, not before. The devil is out there all the time, “like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour (I Pet. 5:8).” But he is sure to attack us where and when we are the most vulnerable. So many of our troubles could be attacks from the devil tempting us to sin.
C. Sin
Sometimes our troubles are brought on by our own actions. This is when we have been tempted and then have succumbed to the temptation. We have involved ourselves in activities that have damaged our health, our bank account, our relationship with our family and friends, or our relationship with God.
One of my favorite moves is “A Christmas Story” which is the story centered around 9 year old Ralphie who wants a Red Rider B. B. Gun for Christmas. There is a segment that takes place on the playground of the school. In the segment, one of the children “triple dogged dares” another child to stick his tongue to the flag pole. When he does, his tongue sticks instantly to the pole. About that time the school bell rings and all the children go inside, leaving this poor helpless child outside with his tongue stuck to the pole. Many times we are like that little boy. We have sinned and now we are stuck with the consequences.
II. Our reaction to trials
James tells us that we have a choice about the way we react to these trials. His recommendation? “Consider it Joy.” We are to consider or lead our mind. We must take control of our mind and decide how we want to react to trouble. When troubles hit, our natural human reaction is to become wail and moan and ask, “Why me?” We often have no control over what happens to us, but James tells us that we do have control over how we react to those happenings. We can and indeed must lead our minds to look at trials not from a natural human viewpoint from God’s viewpoint.
Trials and temptations are not joyful. It is hard and sometimes impossible to be happy when life turns against us. But if we look for it, we can see something positive in anything.
There two men in a military guard house. One asked the other, “How long are you in for?” “30 Days.” “What did you do?” “I went AWOL.” Then the other asked, “How long are you in for?” “3 days.” “What did you do?” “I murdered the general.” “How come I got 30 days for being AWOL while you only got 3 days for murdering the general?” “Oh, did I not tell you? They’re hanging me on Wednesday.”
Many times we see the early Christians rejoicing in some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable. In Acts 5, the apostles had been arrested and flogged for preaching the gospel of Christ in the Temple. In Acts 5:41, we read, “So they went on their way from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for his name.” In Acts 16, Paul and Silas have been thrown in prison. In fact, vs. 24 tells us the authorities “. . . threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.” No TV and no recreation time in this prison. But in vs. 25, we find Paul and Silas “praying and singing hymns of praise to God . . .” Why were they able to be filled with such joy while enduring such terrible mistreatment. James explains in James 1:3-4.
III. The result of trials
A. Trials test our faith.
The idea of testing is that action that is taken to prove with the expectation of approving, or to see whether a thing is genuine or not. How can we know if we are a good pilot, plumber, cook, mechanic, etc., if we have never practiced any of those skills. In the same way, how are we ever going to know whether or not our faith in God is genuine if it is never tested?
Remember when God tested Abraham in Gen. 22 by asking him to sacrifice his only son, Isaac? After Abraham demonstrated his willingness to obey God by killing his only son, stopping only when the angel of God restrained him, God says in Gen. 22 :12, “I know that you fear God.” Believe me, so did Abraham.
When troubles drive us to our knees, we too will know if we have faith. So then when we have trouble in our life, we can consider it joy because we know that if we deal with it correctly, maintain the proper attitude and lead our mind in the right path, we can know that we have faith and that our faith is strong.
B. Trials produce endurance.
How does one prepare to run a marathon? Does he get up one morning, go to the race and start running? NO! He prepares for week, months or sometimes even years to run that 26 mile race. Trials can give us that kind of staying power that enables us to persevere steadfastly through the most adverse circumstances. The apostle Paul said in Rom. 5:3 that “. . . we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance.”
C. Trials produce maturity or completeness so that we are lacking in nothing.
Illustration: Jigsaw puzzle with a missing piece. It is not complete. The apostle Peter discusses this aspect of trials in I Pet. 1:6-9 . . .
So when we are surrounded by trials, tribulations, and temptations, we must not worry about where they come from. We must not sit and bemoan our fate. Instead we must discipline our minds to regard each problem as an opportunity to draw closer to God through an increased faith and endurance, knowing that we will become more complete and more mature, more Christ like.
When things go wrong my brethren, “Consider it joy!”
