“The Purpose of Trials”

Intro:

If you are not familiar with the book of James you, we are going to be going over it for the next couple of months.

James was most likely the half-brother of Jesus and was one of the leaders of the Jerusalem church alongside Peter.

The people that he was writing to at this time were an interesting group. This was a group of believers that were hard working everyday people.

We should note that they were impoverished and are under a great deal of oppression by the ruling authority of that day who were quite wealthy.

Many of the believers were brand new in their faith and most commentators agree were probably very immature in their faith.

To say the least they were probably blindsided by this very difficult time in life and probably living out the faith that they now had and believed in.

Christian life was clearly not easy for these believers, and they were no doubt feeling following Christ was truly costing them something, I imagine more than they thought it would.

Have any of you been there before? Have you ever been in that frame of mind, where you felt like you’re getting hit at every end and this following Jesus just feels impossible?

You had or have this mindset of, “I thought this was supposed to be easier”. As many of you have discovered, and I try to tell people, the more you follow Christ, the more difficult this world can become.

For many, new trials came out of nowhere. Maybe you lost friends along the way. Maybe you lost your job. Maybe you’re living with chronic illness or have lost someone very close to you.

No matter what your situation is, you just simply feel burdened or your whole world feels turned upside down.

It is in these moments that we feel the temptation to cash it in and say, “Well we gave it a good run” before we even allow God to work in the situation.

You may find yourself thinking that God has given up on you or thinking that He does not love you as much as you think He did. You ever felt that way? Maybe not in these exact terms, but something like that?

If you are here today and have not gone through any trials or ever felt that way, chances are you are under the age of five, you are not breathing, or you are a robot.

Trials are an inevitable part of this life that we live in, but I want to make sure that we are clear on this, God is not going to allow them to just become a burden.

He will make sure that trials, in the end, will deepen our faith and our trust in Him. Before we get too far, let’s take a moment and read through our passage today. Read: James 1:1-12

James 1:1–12 ESV

1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. 2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. 9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, 10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. 12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

So how is it that we can have joy, all joy, as James puts it, when we are going through a trial? Well look at some of the wording that he used.

He used that phrase, “trials of various kinds”. He is talking about all types, big and small. He is saying, “All of them”. Why and how joy?

We are going to look at four purposes of trials to have a better understanding or reminder of God’s perspective of trials. The first purpose trials that we find in our passage today is ...

1. We can grow in His likeness

Henry Nouwen, a Dutch Priest, once said, “We fail to see the place of suffering in the broader scheme of things. We fail to see that suffering is an inevitable dimension of life.

Because we have lost perspective, we fail to see that unless one is willing to accept suffering properly, he or she is really refusing to continue in the quest for maturity.

To refuse suffering is to refuse personal growth.”

The first truth that we discover is James is not telling us to consider it joy about our situation in the sense that "this is fun", no he is reminding us that the trials themselves are not joyful.

He is saying we can be joyful because they are under the authority of a sovereign God who will accomplish His purpose through them. What is He accomplishing? He goes on to tell us. Read: James 1:3-4

James 1:3–4 ESV

3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

The testing of our faith develops perseverance. In other words, it begins the maturation of our faith.

It helps us see this world is not our home, and really begins to weigh on us. When evil attacks, we can persevere!

James says that God matures us so that we lack in nothing. This is the purpose, God’s goal in our lives is to mature in Him. The reason this is conflictive for us is because we don’t think like this.

We think more "me centered" about this life, don’t we? We want to be successful, have a nice job, attain certain goals, have the perfect spouse or family, not be sick.

Look, there is nothing wrong with those things, but balance is key. Why? Because when focused more on those things and not enough in Jesus, we are devastated when the trials hit.

But the counter to that frame of mind is this. When we are centered around God, to know God more, then we can endure in trials because no matter how tough, trials are always moving us closer to God.

When we are so focused on our circumstances getting fixed, we set ourselves up to be let down repeatedly.

Why, because rarely do the circumstances stay fixed, maybe never get fixed, or new ones are always around the corner. It forces us to live in a constant state of anxiety.

James is saying that if your goal is to know God more and grow in Him more, then rejoice brothers and sisters, because no matter your circumstances, you will always achieve your goal.

It is in our trials that we experience godliness like no other way in this life. The second purpose of trials that we find in our passage today is ...

2. We begin to trust in His wisdom

Now what I see in verse 5 is we are not where we need to be when it comes to trusting the wisdom of God. Let’s look at that verse again. Read: James 1:5

James 1:5 ESV

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

Wisdom is something that we desperately need when we are walking through trials. When we walk in God's wisdom through our trials, we can grow in our own wisdom. Why?

Because God has complete knowledge of our situation, a proper perspective. Jesus went through every possible test and prevailed every one of them. Why would we not seek His wisdom?

The beauty of this verse is that He not only offers and gives it, but He gives it generously. He gives without question or hesitation. Take note though, it is something that you must ask for it.

Keep in mind thought that His answer may not be easy, and it may not fix our circumstance even, but he does allow us to draw close to Him.

That’s so important for us because it gives His perspective to what we are going through and He possesses all knowledge in how to walk through it.

Our natural inclination is to want to trust our way, our perspective, but he reminds us in verse 6 to believe and not doubt. Read: James 1:6

James 1:6 ESV

6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

Think about your own life. How many times have you watched and learned from watching someone go through a tough situation and the decisions they make as they go through it?

When they do it right it makes you naturally trust them as a go to when you come against a same or similar trial. The more you go to them the more you trust them.

This is how we should approach God in our relationship to trials. The more we go to Him and trust Him in them, the easier it is to trust Him when they hit us.

The third purpose of trials that we find in our passage today is ...

3. We rely more on His resources

As we dive into verses 9-11, we see a theme that will be played out throughout the book of James. It is centered around poverty and wealth.

It seems like an odd transition, but there is a point to what James is doing. Let’s look at the section again. Read: James 1:9-11

James 1:9–11 ESV

9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, 10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

Most of his readers were likely poor, but some of them were wealthy and had come to trust their wealth to get them through things in this life.

In these verses James makes a point that trials have a way of leveling the playing field. He put it quite simply. If you are poor, you can be reminded that your circumstance can lead you to trust God more.

If you are wealthy, you must be careful not to lean on your fortune. You are reminded money can't solve all your problems or cover your pains.

You need to build your life on spiritual resources that only God can provide because in the end everything else will fade away.

It’s in these moments, when all is stripped away, there is nothing else we can do but trust Jesus is going to walk us through it. At this point in a trial, if all we get is more of Jesus, we can boast in it.

This ties in well and leads us to the fourth and final purpose of trials that we find in our passage today and that is ...

4. We strive to live for His reward

This section closes out with a quite poetic verse that seems to allude to the sermon on the mount. It’s here where he tells us the results of enduring these trials in life. Read: James 1:12

James 1:12 ESV

12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

Let's make sure we understand what he is talking about here. This is not a crown like you picture a king of queens wearing, this is the reward of eternal life that James is speaking of.

The whole point is having a proper understanding of your trials. It’s not about what is happening now, but what that He has something for you that is better on the other side of this life.

At the end of this life as we have endured and persevered through various trials, God meets us at the end of this race with eternal life. This is what James has been alluding to the whole time.

You are fighting through these trials now because you are living for the reward that is to come. Paul said it this way. Read: 2 Corinthians 4:17

2 Corinthians 4:17 ESV

17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,

You see there will be a day and let me tell you I have said this at many funerals so let me encourage you today with it.

There will be a day where there is no more suffering, no pain, and no sorrow. We don’t stay focused on the death that came with the cross, but the crown for us in the victory over death.

God is not causing evil to happen in our lives. He is taking what was meant for evil in this life and accomplishes something way beyond anything that we can fathom in our own wisdom.

There is an author by the name of Verdell Davis who lost her husband in a plane crash, and as you can imagine, was stricken with hurt and pain. She penned these words:

“God is doing a greater work in us, and that can only come as we learn to trust him no matter how dark the days and sleepless the nights. And it is only as we have been through the darkness with him that what we know when our heads slide down into our hearts, and our hearts no longer demand answers. The “Why?” becomes unimportant when we believe that God can and will redeem the pain for our good and His glory…. When I put the sovereignty of God beside His unfailing love, my heart can rest.”

I don’t know where all of you sit in life right now, but I know some. I would bet at some point or another you have been in a trial, and that hurt, and that suffering has been very real.

Know this, there is an enemy that wants you to believe that it is God that is inflicting this trial in your life, and he has left you to wither away.

That is condemnation and that is a lie. I like to call the enemy out where he stands. That is a lie. You see if you are a believer there is no more condemnation.

You are going to have to come to a place that you trust God on His character, His sovereignty, and remember that He will never abandon or forsake you.

No matter where you are it is time to anchor in. If you have anchored into the wrong source, move the anchor into the hope of the Lord.

If you have anchored into the Lord already, dig in deeper and let Him help you persevere. If you have not begun those roots yet, let’s start today by giving your life to Him.

If you find yourself down and out, lowly and broken today, James says rejoice and consider it pure joy. Why, because you know that God is doing something amazing in and through this trial.