Tiago 1

Tiago 1:2

William MacDonald writes that "In this section James deals with the subject of temptation. He uses the word in two different senses. In Jas 1:2-12, the temptations are what we might call holy trials or problems which are sent from God, and which test the reality of our faith and produce likeness to Christ. In Jas 1:13-17, on the other hand, the subject is unholy temptations, which come from within, and which lead to sin. The Christian life is filled with problems. They come uninvited and unexpected. Sometimes they come singly and sometimes in droves. They are inevitable. James does not say “if you fall into various trials” but when. We can never get away from them. The question is, “What are we going to do about them?” There are several possible attitudes we can take toward these testings and trials of life. We can rebel against them (He 12:5+) by adopting a spirit of defiance, boasting that we will battle through to victory by our own power. On the other hand, we can lose heart or give up under pressure (He 12:5). This is nothing but fatalism. It leads to questioning even the Lord’s care for us. Again, we can grumble and complain about our troubles. This is what Paul warns us against in 1 Co 10:10. Another option—we can indulge in self-pity, thinking of no one but ourselves, and trying to get sympathy from others. Or better, we can be exercised by the difficulties and perplexities of life (Heb. 12:11+). We can say, in effect, “God has allowed this trial to come to me. He has some good purpose in it for me. I don’t know what that purpose is, but I’ll try to find out. I want His purposes to be worked out in my life.” This is what James advocates: “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials.” Don’t rebel! Don’t faint! Rejoice! These problems are not enemies, bent on destroying you. They are friends which have come to aid you to develop Christian character. God is trying to produce Christlikeness in each of His children. This process necessarily involves suffering, frustration, and perplexity. The fruit of the Spirit cannot be produced when all is sunshine; there must be rain and dark clouds. Trials never seem pleasant; they seem very difficult and disagreeable. But afterwards they yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by them (Heb. 12:11). How often we hear a Christian say, after passing through some great crisis, “It wasn’t easy to take, but I wouldn’t give up the experience for anything.” (BORROW Believer's Bible Commentary) Trials are not sent to break us but to build us. Trials do not make us less useful; they make us more usable. Trials are not detours from God's plan but part of God's plan. Trials are not meant to consume us but to conform us. Trials are not God's punishment but God's preparation. Trials are not obstacles to growth but opportunities for growth. Trials do not come to weaken faith but to strengthen faith. Trials are not designed to ruin character but to refine character. Trials are not God's abandonment of us but His investment in us. Trials are not evidence of God's displeasure but instruments of His development. Trials are not meant to drive us from God but to draw us to God. Trials are not intended to diminish us but to deepen us. Trials are not the enemy of faith but the proving ground of faith. Trials are not the graveyard of hope but the greenhouse of hope. Trials are not designed to destroy our confidence in God but to display His faithfulness. Trials do not hinder spiritual maturity; they help produce it. Trials are not the furnace of destruction but the furnace of purification. Trials are not accidents in the Christian life but assignments from a sovereign God. Trials are not wasted pain but purposeful pain. Trials are not the end of God's work in us but the means by which He completes His work in us. God's furnace is for refining, not ruining. The fire that tests faith also strengthens faith. What burns away the dross reveals the gold. Affliction is God's classroom for maturity. The hammer of adversity shapes the vessel of usefulness. Every trial carries a lesson wrapped in suffering. The deepest roots often grow in the darkest storms. God measures every trial and wastes none of them. The school of suffering graduates saints. The pathway to maturity often passes through adversity. Ray Pritchard (sermon) rightly says that "difficulties are placed in our path for our spiritual benefit. This law teaches us that spiritual growth is possible and necessary but it is not instant or easy. There are no shortcuts on the road to glory. As football coaches have said for generations, “No pain, no gain.”Here are four principles that help us think clearly about our trials: 1) Because we live in a fallen world, bad things happen to all of us. 2) We have no control over many things that happen to us or to those around us. 3) We do have complete control over how we respond. 4) Our response to our trials largely determines our spiritual growth—or lack thereof. ...Struggle in the Christian life is inevitable, lifelong and ultimately beneficial. We encounter God’s grace through our trials in ways that would not happen if the trials had not come in the first place. It takes a mature Christian to understand this principle, and ironically, it is this principle that makes us mature. Years ago my friend Jim Warren (longtime host of Primetime America on the Moody Broadcasting Network) passed along this bit of advice: “Ray, when hard times come, be a student, not a victim.” The more I have pondered those simple words, the more profound they seem to me. Many people are professional victims, always talking about how unfair life is. A victim says, “Why did this happen to me?” A student says, “I don’t care why it happened. I want to learn what God is trying to teach me.” A victim looks at everyone else and cries out, “Life isn’t fair.” A student looks at life and says, “What happened to me could have happened to anybody.” A victim feels so sorry for himself that he has no time for others. A student focuses on helping others so that he has no time to feel sorry for himself. A victim begs God to remove the problems of life so that he might be happy. A student has learned through the problems of life that God alone is the source of all true happiness. I. The Command “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds” (James 1:2). James begins by reminding us that sooner or later (probably sooner) we will all face trials of various sorts. The word “face” has the idea of falling or stumbling over a problem. Picture someone driving down the highway in a convertible. The top is down, the music is blaring, and the driver is having a blast. Not a problem in the world, not a care or a concern. Suddenly there is a bump, a jolt, and the car comes to a sudden halt. What happened? The car hit a massive pothole and suddenly the happy journey is over. Life is like that for all of us. No matter who we are or where we live, trouble is just a phone call away. A doctor may say, “I’m sorry. You’ve got cancer.” Or the voice may inform you that your daughter has just been arrested. Or you may be fired without warning. Or someone you trusted may start spreading lies about you. Or your husband may decide he doesn’t want to be married anymore. The list is endless because our trials are “multi-colored” and “variegated” (the Greek word has this idea behind it). Unlike the famous ice cream store, our trials come in more than 32 varieties. How, then, should we respond to these hard times that suddenly come to us? James offers what appears to be a strange piece of advice: “Consider it pure joy” or “Count it all joy” (KJV). That sounds so odd that one wonders if he is serious. “Count it all joy? Are you nuts? Do you have any idea what I’ve just been through?” It does sound rather idealistic, if not downright impossible. I confess to be being bothered by this so I decided to check it out in the Greek. No help there. The word “joy” means … joy. Pretty simple. So I decided to check out some other translations. One version says, “Be very glad” and another says, “Consider yourselves fortunate.” That didn’t help at all, so I turned to the translation of J. B. Phillips, hoping for some light (if not a way of escape). This is how he handles verse 2: “When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives, my brothers, don’t resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends!” Even as I type these words, there is a rueful smile on my face. I think it’s the exclamation point at the end that does it for me. It’s not just “welcome them as friends,” which would be hard enough, but “welcome them as friends!” which to me sounds positively giddy, like I’m welcoming long-lost friends to my home. A “Supernatural” Response As I have pondered the matter, and considered my own difficulties with this concept, the thought occurs that “counting it all joy” when troubles come is not a natural response. If we want a natural response, we can talk about anger or despair or complaining or getting even or running away. It isn’t “natural” to find joy in hardship. But that’s the whole point. James isn’t talking about a “natural” reaction. He’s talking about a “supernatural” reaction made possible by the Holy Spirit who enables us to see and to respond from God’s point of view. I conclude, then, that counting it all joy is a conscious choice we make when hard times come (ED: Php 2:13NLT+ says God gives us the desire and the power to make this choice!). Truthfully, it’s probably a choice we’ll have to make again and again and again. And to do it we’ll have to take the long view of life, to understand that what we see is not the final chapter of the story. If we can make the choice to view life that way, then we can make the following statements about our struggles and our trials: 1) This is sent from the Lord. 2) This is necessary for my spiritual growth. The first statement reflects a high view of God’s sovereignty. Everything that happens to us is either caused by God or sent by God. If I truly believe that, then I can move to the second statement and begin to look for ways to grow spiritually. Here’s a practical hint. Don’t trust your feelings! When those you love are in great pain or when you face senseless tragedy or when friends turn against you or when life tumbles in around you, your feelings won’t be an accurate guide. You won’t “feel” joyful or grateful or full of trust normally. You are quite likely to be filled with a whole bag of negative emotions. So don’t judge your circumstances by your feelings. Judge your circumstances by the Holy Spirit and by the Word of God. When you do that, a powerful conclusion emerges: These great trials give me great hope that God means a great benefit to me. Seeing things God’s way doesn’t cancel your trials and it doesn’t turn them into non-trials, but it does transform your evaluation of those trials. You will view them differently because you believe that God intends through them to give you a great benefit that could not come any other way. This week I read about a pastor in Florida who occasionally throws “Count it all joy” parties. He prepares a nice invitation, sends it out to lots of people, and then waits for the response. “Why are you having this party? Is it your birthday? Your anniversary? Did you get a raise?” they ask him. “No, I’m having this party because I’m going through a hard time right now and I want to celebrate because I know God has something good planned for me in the end.” The thought occurred to me that this is a far better idea than the “Pity Parties” many of us like to throw. Perhaps a group of people going through hard times should come together to throw a “Count it all joy” party so they can commiserate and celebrate together. That’s at least approaching the spirit of our text. Joy Because God is in Control No doubt our main problem comes because we misunderstand the word “joy.” In contemporary parlance, the word is virtually a synonym for happiness. Joy to many people speaks of a pep rally or a champagne party or a New Year’s Eve bash. To us, joy means the absence of all pain. But that’s not at all what the Bible means. Here’s a working definition: Joy is deep satisfaction that comes from knowing that God is in control even when my circumstances seem to be out of control. The key to joy is knowing that God is in control. If you know that, you can be satisfied at a very deep level even while you weep over what is happening around you and to you..... Sorrow Can Be Selfish The great 19th-century preacher Alexander