Facing Your Trials - James 1:2-4

I have never been one for “the don't worry be happy” motto. Neither am I one who believes that worrying profits anything. I have to admit, though, sometimes when my Christian friends tell me to “count it all joy”; I think to myself they have no idea what I am facing. Sometimes I feel like I just can’t take another, “hey just pray about it” or “you need to pray about that”. I feel like they just don’t understand the emotional weight I am under and they have no idea how many times I have prayed. But, now I realize that I was struggling with a bigger issue than the questions and comments from my friends and loved ones. The source of my frustrations was how to cope during the trial. So, I wondered, how should we (Christians) face difficult situations? In James 1:2-4, James exhorts us as Christians to count it all joy when we fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. I would like to share three things that have helped me face my trials and relieve my frustrations.

First, we see in this passage that we are to rejoice when we fall into various trials. James does not say count it all joy if, but when we fall into various trials. As children of God, it is very important that we understand trials and tribulations are inevitable. We have a tendency to think maybe we are being punished for doing something wrong or maybe we have fallen out of the will of God when troubles come into our lives. Sometimes we to o solve our problems in the typical worldly way, blame someone, get angry and respond carnally, instead of spiritually. But, it is during these times of trouble that God's word tells us to rejoice; hold tight to our faith and trust God even when we do not understand what he is doing. The Saints of old were able rejoice in times of trouble because they trusted God all the time, as we should. For encourage in this very thing read Hebrews 11 and observed that by faith the Saint of old overcame many obstacles. My friend do you trust God like this? Can you REJOICE in trials as well as triumphs? Well, stay tuned and you will find, like I did, that this is an issue of faith and understanding.

Secondly, this passage teaches that these trials or the trying of our faith produces patience. The word trial has the meaning of putting someone to the test in order to discover their nature. These tests reveal where we need help, revealing the weaker aspects of our personality, especially the ones we try to ignore. Also these trials reveal where we need to be closer to God. We must learn to realize that God brings such tests to prove the strength and quality of our faith with the purpose of strengthening it. Paul teaches us in Romans 5:3-5, to rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. My friends God is at work in us at all times, but especially in time of trouble. So, in times of trouble, KNOW that He is working to purify and sanctify us trough these trials.

Lastly, James teaches us in verse 4 of chapter 1 to allow patience to have its perfect work, that we may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. Simply put, trust GOD. In times of trials UNDERSTAND that this trouble did not come to destroy but to BUILD something in you by the grace of God. God through trials make us perfect and complete, lacking nothing. So, knowing this, our reaction to troubles should not be to ‘lay down our religion’, but rather to cling to the cross of Jesus. Do you see how radically different this is from how the world reacts to problems. Why? Because we know that through the hurt and the tears, God loves us and sees us in our time of trouble and is working to make us perfect. We must hold and walk by faith and not by sight.

I hope this helps someone that maybe enduring hardship on the job, at home or even in the church. Remember our response to trouble is not despair but joy. Know that this testing of our faith produces patience and through this testing we become perfect and complete, lacking nothing. Remember the words of a popular song, even when we can't track God we should still trust HIM. Count it all Joy.