Living the Christian Life

The book of James has been written to believers as a way to remind believer of ways we are to live righteously. Traditionally, this book is attributed to James, the oldest half-brother of Jesus. As we have studied in the book of Acts, we know James had become a prominent leader in the Jerusalem church, being called one of the three “pillars” along with Peter and John. His devotion to righteousness and seeing others come to a life pleasing to their Savior makes us believe this authorship is correct, as the book outlines how faith perseveres through the life of a believer.

James is writing this letter to Jewish believers who had been dispersed and were possibly under persecution from King Agrippa. As a result, we see James writing from the Jewish perspective and looks to encourage the new believers in a way that they could understand and be comforted.

Now WE have an opportunity to read this heart-felt letter and find encouragement as to how we can also persevere - as trials and tribulations are going to happen. While we may not face persecution like these believers, we still will find ourselves at times of uncertainty and testing. With these testings come decisions we must make - do we allow them to deepen our faith, or move us farther away from the Great Comforter? To be honest, I think this is one of the hardest parts of the Christian walk. Upon our salvation, we are at a high level of excitement! We immerse ourselves in study, in reading scripture, in participating in church activities. But then, “something” happens. We pray, we look for answers, and we don’t find them or it doesn’t go the way we wanted. We grow discouraged and before long we quit praying, we quit reading the Bible, we quit coming to church. And then more “things” happen and we spiral downward, and our faith grows weak. When our faith is weak, then we search for what makes the hurt feel less intense. It might be a new church that preaches on “self improvement”, or lessens the conviction of things we may be dealing with in our own life - choosing to speak on the “cool” topics that makes us feel good. We try to make God conform to our wants and desires instead of conforming ourselves in the likeness of God.

Instead, God desires for these trials and tribulations to grow us closer to Him and at times, we do get convicted of our actions, our inactions, and changing our life to be more like His. When our faith becomes uncertain, we lean further into Him and His Word, and it grows us closer to Him and our faith and love for Him grows and deepens. James reminds us of this in these first twelve verses of the opening of His letter to Jewish converts. Let’s see how we can us his words to encourage us today.

Joyful Trials

James 1:1–4 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.

James recognizes that trials are simply a part of life, we might even say it is part of our divine retribution for sin. Not the way God originally intended, but a consequence of our actions. As he writes to the dispersed believers throughout the world, he reminds them that he is simply a servant of God and of Jesus. While James is a church leader, as I mentioned before, he refers to himself as a doulos. This word, doulos, describes one who who performs duties for their master. A bond-servant who carries out whatever the master desires. He is fully owned by the master, totally possessed by the master, and James reminds us that he was simply a slave - bought and possessed by Jesus.

You see, Jesus paid the ultimate price for each and every one of us through His death. And with that acknowledgement, James could not see any better way to describe the relationship he now has with Christ. He exists for no other reason than to serve Jesus. Not in a demeaning or subservient way, but instead as one of the most highest and honored duties he could perform. It’s amazing how he views the relationship he has with His Savior. How much different would our relationship with Jesus be, if we would only humble ourselves and adopt the title doulos, servant, for our Savior? Not viewing it as simply free labor, but as a highly honored and esteemed position of showing others the privilege of serving the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

We all know, life is not easy and James points this out quickly when he makes this statement “when you meet trials of various kinds”. Notice his wording “WHEN”. It has been translated in other passages to mean “as soon as”. Now, listen to this for effect “As soon as you meet trials of various kinds”. You see, we are not immune and will not be exempt from trials, or temptations, in our life. But here is the most important part, while God will never tempt us to sin, none of the trials we endure are ever out of God’s control. Every trial, every temptation, is under God’s control and can be used to accomplish His purposes.

Now, today, we have those who preach a different kind of theology. They tell people that God doesn’t want you to ever be sick, ever be poor, and if you name and claim health and wealth, Jesus will give it too you. This is the exact opposite of what James tells the believers he is writing to. He tells us we will face trials in our life, but it is how we face them that truly is important. Trials don’t necessarily put smiles on our faces. Trials don’t always give us the comfort that everything will be okay. Trials, in fact, can hurt and brings sadness and uncertainty. But James also says we are to “Count it all as joy”.

How is it we experience joy out of trials and tribulations?

I will tell one on myself, I do not like when things don’t go the right way. And it seems the small things can get under my skin and cause me more torment and unrest than the big things. But you know what? I think it is the over reaction to the small things that make it easier to handle the big things.

James here speaks of “various trials”, not everything is going to be something major! We must endure big and small alike and while trials are not joyful when we are going through them, they bring us joy when we realize that God can accomplish His Will for our lives through them. You see, many of our most precious gemstones start out looking like nothing but another rock. But for them to get to the place where they are brilliant and shining they must endure refinement. Hammers strike and break the gemstone, coarse abrasives are used to start refining the surface, but eventually in the hands of a master they are refined and polished until they shine brightly. Was the gemstone any less valuable in its rough state, or was it just looking for the master to refine it into its true potential?

You see, the trials of life may strike us and it may feel like it is intended to break us. The abrasive nature of life erodes away at us, and all we feel is the grit. But throughout all of these “various” trials we are constantly being formed by THE Master, our Creator and our Savior into the valuable gem He desires us to be.

James refers to steadfastness - endurance and patience. The testing of our faith brings us endurance, patience to deal with life and all it brings, and we learn to grow into His likeness. You see that gemstone still wouldn’t be as shiny and brilliant if the master quit working and refining it. In this context James reminds us that it is us who chooses how we react to these trials and allow them to mature us into the Christian God calls us to be.

I think back to the early years and how immature in both thoughts and actions I could be. But life’s lessons have helped bring me to a place where I am maturing and things just don’t seem to be a crisis anymore. You see, God’s goal in our life is to mature in Him, and grow in His likeness. One day every person is going to stand before Almighty God, and God’s goal from now until then is to prepare you for that day. We don’t think like this, for we think the goal of life is to be successful, to have a nice job, to get a raise, to achieve a standing in the world, to attain a certain goal, or to have a certain kind of family. Then when trials hit in our family, at work, or with some plans we have, they devastate us. But if our goal is to know God and to be conformed into His likeness, then we can take joy in trials because we can know that no matter how tough these trials are, they are moving us toward our goal.

But it is how we look at, and how we react to those trials that truly matter. To be honest, I think we have to think differently at trials in our lives, as Christians. Why do so many people get so bent out of shape when something goes wrong? Because many of them either don’t know, or do not lean on the one who can provide us with peace throughout even the most difficult times of our lives.

I have heard it said that if we are in a peaceful place in our life, we have either come out of a trial or we are getting ready to enter into another trial. You see, life is filled with tribulation. And when we get out of the mindset of “I just want God to “FIX” the problem, and truly look to know God and grow in God deeper during difficult times of our lives, then we become more like Him. Our faith grows stronger, we are able to endure, and we rejoice because no matter what our circumstance is...we achieve the goal God has intended for us.

Closing

I looked for quotes that referenced the trials and tribulations of life, and interestingly enough I found these:

Pastor Tim Keller stated “No one is exempt from trials and tribulations. In fact, this is often what happens to people God loves very much, for it is part of God’s often mysterious and good plan for turning us into something great.”

Solomon Northup, a former slave made this comment “At such times, the heart of man turns instinctively towards his Maker. In prosperity, and whenever there is nothing to injure or make him afraid, he remembers Him not, and is ready to defy Him; but place him in the midst of dangers, cut him off from human aid, let the grave open before him, then it is, in the time of his tribulation, that the scoffer and unbelieving man turns to God for help, feeling there is no other hope, or refuge, or safety, save in his protecting arm.”

Matshona Dhliwayo, a Canadian based philosopher, entrepreneur, and author states “Pain teaches you more than pleasure. Failure teaches you more than success. Poverty teaches you more than prosperity. Adversity teaches you more than comfort.”

And even Taylor Swift spoke these sage words “The trials and tribulations in your life make you stronger.”

You see, God does not desire us to walk through the trials and tribulations of life alone, but instead to seek Him, to lean on Him, and to faithfully follow Him, so He can lead us to a place where we become the refined Christian, brilliant and sparkling like a gem, and conform into His likeness.

We are told, even in the hardest of times, in Hebrews 13:5 that God will never leave us nor will He forsake us. In trials we experience growth in godliness like we could never experience any other way. when you set your sights above the stuff of this world and you fix your eyes on God and the knowledge of Him and maturity in Him, then trials will be a joy to you because they will teach you to know, love, and trust Him.

Maybe you have been going through a time of trial and tribulation in your life. Will you allow God to transform you, or will you turn away? Will you grow closer to Him, or will you distance yourself from the one who can bring you joy and peace? If you are struggling, is it time that you recognize the need to submit to His Will today and put your faith and trust in Him? The altar is open, come.