Perseverance and Confidence

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James 1:2–3 NIV

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

Redefining 'The Right Way’

Redefining Value

Hebrews 10:36 NIV

You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

So James starts off with this basic question: where is God leading us to?

This is why I love his description, calling trials ‘pure joy’. Not just ‘hey, they could be good.’ It’s ‘pure joy’ to persevere under trials.

In verse 4, James ties the idea of perseverance to God developing maturity in us, that our faith would be complete and not lacking.

James starts his letter off talking about the idea of God developing perseverance. Why is perseverance so important?

Hebrews 10:36 NIV

You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

James 1:12 NIV

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

Hebrews 10:36 NIV

You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

Perseverance brings us to that place where we not only ‘pass the problem’, but we become the kind of person that will receive this crown of life that God has promised us

Because God has an eternity ahead of us, not just the next day. And that eternity is more valuable than anything in this world

And it’s quite possible to miss it. It’s quite possible to let life drag us away to the point that we stop looking for God’s crown of life, and start being happy with the temporary crowns we make for ourselves.

When we consider God’s plan for eternity, we see God’s value for perseverance.

So this gives us a little bit of a different perspective on trials.

We like to avoid pain. But temporary pain that leads to a more lasting gain is worthwhile. This is what we think of when we say ‘perseverance’.

Now, there’s an important point I need you to understand. And that’s the source of trials and temptations.

Whenever something bad happens to us, we tend to default to two perspectives.

The first is, ‘oh no, I messed up, everything is going wrong, i’m on my own this time’

The second is ‘Things are not going well because God is trying to teach me something -I need to have faith and confidence I’m on the right path’.

And here’s the thing - neither one is all that correct.

Later, james says this:

James 1:13–14 NIV

When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.

James is reminding us that the source of temptation to do wrong in life is not God, and it never will be. Sometimes, a trial is God helping us to redefine an incorrect truth or value we are holding. Sometimes, it’s God helping us to remember that a truth He gave us is worth holding onto. But sometimes it’s just the fruit of us being ‘dragged away by our own evil desires’.

They say everything happens for a reason - and often that reason is that we make bad decisions.

And this is the real, real value of perseverance. Because in perseverance, God is doing three things:

He’s trying to burn the evil parts of our nature away. Our faith is tested because we make a decision other than what God wants us to make, and we see the poor result of that. But we learn to persevere in our FAITH, not in our folly.

He’s trying to teach us to understand and see the world the way HE wants us to see it. We are in a ‘trial’ because things aren’t going the way WE want - but are they going the way God wants?

He’s trying to help us understand why living by HIS truth is way better than living by our own. He allows us to see Him come through for us in mighty ways, so that we gain confidence in asking Him for things. Because we’ve seen him deliver.

So we understand something important from the beginning of james:

God has a different growth plan for our lives than we do

That’s why James talks about believers in humble circumstances vs rich believers in verses 9-11.

James 1:9–11 NIV

Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they 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 will fade away even while they go about their business.

Riches and wealth are an area where we tend to lose sight of eternity.

Humble believers are in a ‘high position’. Jesus himself said that those who are humbled will be exalted.

Peter talked about how wealth is temporary and will pass away - this is why the rich should take pride in their humiliation.

Now, this isn’t about how wealth is evil, and poverty is good. His point isn’t ‘if you are rich, you should be poor’ - otherwise, he would have directly and literally said that. James he has a reason for BOTH sides to have ‘pride’.

Peter talked about how wealth is temporary and will pass away.

His reason is this - believers in both circumstances should take pride about understanding reality and making wise choices in light of God’s eternal truths.

Those who are rich should realize the temporary nature of riches and wealth. They should take pride in making wise choices knowing that all their wealth will pass away. They should have total confidence in the idea that God’s idea of wealth has nothing to do with their own.

Those who are poor should look forward to God’s exaltation of them. They should understand God’s priorities when it comes to what kind of people will be lifted up. They should take pride in knowing that they’re lined up for God to exalt them.

So when we expect something from God, what kinds of things should we expect? Should we expect God to uphold the truths about reality that HE has established, or should we expect Him to do things our way?

James is not just pushing knowledge, he’s pushing wisdom. He’s saying, ‘What you know is one thing - what choices you make and priorities you have is another’.

His reason is this - believers in both circumstances should take pride in the fact that

This leads us to the next part of this section that I want to focus on. James is pushing the value of perseverance. He wants us to hold onto our faith, to endure, because God wants to burn away the bad and deposit the good.

And that’s an easy thing to say, but how do we get to that point? How do we learn the difference between the good and the bad? James throws a little line out here about wisdom that I want to focus on.

James 1:5–6 NIV

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

James 1:5–8 NIV

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

Redefining Confidence

Redefining Value

So james tells us to ask for wisdom. Not just knowledge - but wisdom. And there’s a difference.

Redefining Trials

Redefining Temptation

1 Corinthians 8:1 NIV

Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up.

But it comes with an admonition - ‘believe and not doubt’.

Now, James uses a phrase here - ‘like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind’. That’s not the only place we see that kind of language.

Ephesians 4:14 NIV

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.

Both Paul and James pushed the idea that the mark of ‘maturity’ was properly understand AND living by God’s truths.

The key word in James is ‘wisdom’, in paul it’s ‘teaching’ - they both suggest this idea that what we take in, what we believe, and HOW we believe makes up this phrase ‘believe and not doubt’.

I think we hold an incorrect notion to this verse - at least, something James isn’t suggesting. We tend to think of this as meaning, ‘we have to have perfect faith - no struggles or doubts or issues - before God will answer us’. And that’s not what James is saying at all.

James teaches us that we can expect God to answer us when we have full confidence that His truth is the real truth.

Picture a person trying to walk down the street. But the person is being blown about by the wind. It’s difficult for them to keep going forward right? Maybe they even wind up in the wrong spot.

James is applying this same principle to teaching and wisdom. He’s saying that lacking understanding, lacking wisdom is the same thing - we’ll get tossed about in life, and thrown off track.

But the difference isn’t perfect faith - Jesus was pretty clear that isn’t going to be possible.

Why do we think James says ‘double minded’ in verse 8? I think we need to picture that literally - two brains. One brain is telling you one thing, one another. There’s conflict. There’s arguing and trouble. If you disagree, you’re paralyzed, your life is unstable. Our faith, our understanding of the bible tells us one thing - but then that other brain in our heads stands up and tries to tell us something else.

And the solution here is confidence. But it’s not just arrogant confidence that we are right.

Believing and not doubting is the confidence that God’s truth, expressed in his word, is completely true, no matter what.

And we can have confidence in God because God is completely perfect, completely truth, and completely unchanging - His truth 2,000 years ago is still relevant today.

It’s not ‘perfect faith’. It’s ‘complete confidence in God’s truth about this issue’.

If you completely trust when the bible says that God will take care of your needs if you will trust your life to expanding your kingdom… you’ll see God answer.

If you completely trust that God sends peace to those who give their cares to Him… you’ll see God answer.

Perseverance and Confidence

So, James decided to start of his letter talking about these two ideas - perseverance and confidence.

We need to persevere in our faith even in troubles so that we can allow God to define and refine our understanding of the world and our values.

We need to develop confidence in God’s truths and their relevancy so that we see God really move in our lives, and we can learn to interact with God rather than just fumble about on our own

It’s on this foundation that James bases the rest of his letter.

So here’s my challenge.

If you are going through a trial, persevere.

If you are struggling to see God answer you, find something to have confidence in.