So what are we to make of all this weather? First, a major tornado rips through Springfield last March, devastating homes and small businesses. Then late last year a major ice storm, unlike anything we’ve had for nearly a decade, ravages our neighborhoods and leaves us miserable and without power for days. And this weekend yet another ice storm that will likely eclipse the one we had last year. Is there any end in sight? Is God trying to teach us something? Does he not like trees? Because there are thousands of limbs and branches lying everywhere. The city is running out of places to put them. I thought trees were good for the environment!
Perhaps someone at one of the power companies ticked God off? Can you imagine what it would be like working all hours of the day in the cold and ice, repairing poles andrestringing wires, and then having to face people’s frustration the entire time? Someone at the power company just needs to pray, "We like to think that we have power, but you, you alone Lord God, have the ultimate power."
Every single person faces hardships and trials.
Hardships have a way of challenging our understanding of God. When the storms of life hit us, our first impulse is to look to the heavens, "God, what’s up? What’s this all about? Are you still sovereign? Do you still love me? Did I do something wrong? Are you trying to make a point? Am I paying for some sin I committed?"
Hardships also have a way of revealing our true characters. Our character isn’t revealed when we are warm, well-fed, and sitting by a fireplace sipping hot cocoa. Our character is revealed when the power is out, when tree limbs are cracking, when your sump pump is failing, and the forecast is nothing but more rain and ice.
How do you react when trials come your way?
It is true that hardships can bring the worst out of us. They can cause us to question our faith. They can push us to the limits of our patience and endurance. What storm in your life is pushing you to the brink right now? What storm in your life is virtually unbearable, completely overwhelming, and terribly frustrating? And what does the forecast look like for your storm? More pain? More anguish? Little sunshine expected? Cloudy and overcast? Windy? One hundred percent chance for misery?
These ice storms are just a metaphor for the storms of life. The tough stuff is the stuff of life. The tough stuff is facing unemployment, hearing bad news from the doctor, caring for ailing parents, rebuilding a broken marriage, overcoming addiction, breaking out of financial bondage, or being persecuted for your faith. James is concerned that we pass the test andthat these external trials not destroy us, but become the foundation for deeper faith in Christ.
James says that we should consider it pure joy when we face trials.
And so here is what James says in James 1:2 (NIV). "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds…" Consider it pure joy? Do you know what pure joy is? Pure joy is not having a single polluted thought in your heart as you face the worst situations that life has to throw at you! I don’t know about you, but for me the storms of life can provoke a lot of impure and unspiritual thinking. I doubt God. I get angry and frustrated. I get moody and impatient. I become irritable. James is saying that the opposite reaction should happen. We should consider it pure joy when trials come our way! This isn’t some sort of divine comedy. The very mark of God’s power at work in our lives is that in our hearts we consider it pure joy whenever we face trials of many kinds. Let me just ask you, how did things go during your last trial? Did you pass the test?
In James 1:2-12 James fleshes out what it means to endure trials with pure joy. The word "consider" suggests that we need a radical change in perspective. In these verses you will notice James does just that. He radically alters our perspective on trials.
The perspective of maturity.
First, James encourages us to consider the perspective of maturity. In James 1:2-4 (NIV) he writes, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."
Let’s say that you have become convicted of your need to develop patience. Patience is a virtue. It is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. But how do we become more patient? Do we become more patient by pulling up at a drive-through window and receiving our food in mere seconds? Do we become more patient when everything we need is the click of a mouse away, or just a short trip across town?
No! Patience is developed during times of testing and hardship. Patience is developed when we have to stand against the current, when we have no other option but to push through the pain. Patience is developed when every part of our heart, mind, body, and soul is saying "surrender", but the Spirit of God within is saying, "follow Christ."
Perseverance in the face of life’s trials is what makes us mature and complete. By contrast, the absence of pain and hardship makes us soft and flabby. It leaves us weak in our sinful nature. You may be happy being flabby, but God wants you strong. Were it not for trials we would never develop a virtuous life. So that’s why James 1:2-4 (NIV) says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." Are you feeling the burn? Praise God, because God is at work in your life.
One of my favorite passages is Romans 8:28-29 (NIV) which says, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers." Pure joy is rejoicing over the work that God is doing in our lives. Pure joy is rejoicing when trial after trial, we become more fully conformed to the likeness of God’s son in character, in virtue, in attitude, and in action. That’s the perspective of maturity.
The perspective of faith.
James next encourages us to consider the perspective of faith. James 1:5-8 (NIV) says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does."
I mentioned that trials have a way of challenging our understanding about God. It is amazing, but hardships shake us out of our spiritual complacency. We don’t trust God when everything is going well, but as soon as there is trouble in our lives, things change! We trust God when the tumor is malignant. We trust God when we don’t know how we're going to pay the light bill or when we don’t know what tomorrow will bring.
Nothing provokes faith like a crisis. A crisis sends us to our knees searching for answers. Like nothing else in all the world, a crisis gets us digging into the word of God. A crisis gets us packing the family in the car to go to church. A crisis forces us to wrestle with the deeper things of God. There is no time like a crisis to meet God face to face or to grow beyond complacency. Life is about seeking God and knowing God and understanding his will. What joy we can have when we meet God face to face in the midst of our trials.
Psalm 23
This is what the twenty third chapter of Psalm is all about. Consider God's words. Psalm 23:1-6 (NIV) says, "The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever."
There in the shadow of death, David encounters the Great Shepherd. David discovers the abundance of God’s provision. He more perfectly walks in the path of righteousness. He comes to trust more deeply in God’s goodness and love. For David, the crisis brought about a faith so deep that it has inspired billions of believers down through the ages. Pure joy is using every trial as an occasion for deepening our faith and understanding of God. Is that happening in your trial?
The perspective of humility.
James encourages us to consider the perspective of humility. In James 1:9-11 (NIV) he says,"The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business."
Trials have a way of maturing us into the image of Christ. Trials have a way of deepening our faith. Trials also have a way of destroying our pride and humbling us. When everything is going great we quickly become proud and start looking down on people in lesser circumstances than ourselves. When we are proud we say things like the following statements. "Can’t those people help themselves? Can’t they try harder? Can’t he just get a job? If she took better care of herself, she wouldn’t be sick. It’s her own fault she’s depressed. Can’t he just get over it? He keeps talking about all his problems."
When you're rich and proud, you don’t care. You railroad people, you step on people, you push past people, you ignore their needs, and then you blame them. But when you endure hardship yourself, all sense of pride is lost. You realize how precious every second of life is. You begin valuing people, you have compassion on others, and you empathize with their pain. You take time to truly serve them.
The perspective of eternity.
James last encourages us to consider the perspective of eternity. When we face trials we can become so narrow-minded. When we suffer, it's like our trial becomes our entire universe. It's like we're focused on this little pebble of sand, when we should be lifting our heads to see the beach and consider the mighty ocean and take in the majestic heavens.
In James 1:12 (NIV) we read, "Blessed is the man 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 is telling us to look at our trial from God’s vantage point. Consider things from the perspective of eternity, from the perspective of the crown, and from the perspective of heaven. Get the big picture in focus. There is light at the end of the tunnel!
In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NIV) Paul says, "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."
In 2 Timothy 4:6-8 (NIV) Paul says, "For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing."
All these verses teach us that we do not run the race in vain. At the end of our lives there awaits a crown of righteousness that will last forever. We are aliens and strangers here on earth. We are just passing through. This earth is not our destiny.
In John 16:33 (NIV) Jesus says, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
In John 14:1-6 (NIV) Jesus says, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going. Thomas said to him, 'Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?' Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.' "
Now what? Just live it!
Pure joy is setting our hearts and minds on things above and not on earthly things. At the bottom of your outline there are four questions. Let's take the next few moments and consider our present trials through the lens of pure joy.
First, how have you become more like Christ through your trial? (Maturity) Second, what have you learned about God through your trial? (Faith) Third, how has your perspective on life been deepened through your trial? (Humility) And fourth, how has your longing for eternity deepened throughout your hardship? (Eternity)