Consider it all joy

James 1:1-18 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings.

² Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. ⁴ And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

⁵ But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. ⁶ But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷ For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, ⁸ being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

⁹ But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position; ¹⁰ and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away. ¹¹ For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away.

¹² Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. ¹³ Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. ¹⁴ But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. ¹⁵ Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. ¹⁶ Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. ¹⁷ Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.¹⁸ In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.

I love the simplicity and straight forward approach of James. One does not need to be a Biblical scholar or use advanced methods of interpretation to understand what James is saying. In today’s text it says:  Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.   It is not that we take pleasure in trials and difficulties. We don’t wear them as badges of honor or proof of our faith. Rather we consider it joy because we know what the end result will be, that endurance or perseverance will be produced and that through that we will be perfected, lacking in nothing. Romans 8:28-29 says:  We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.  God will use the various trials in our lives; He will cause them to work together for our good, perfecting us; conforming us to the image of Christ His Son, so that we will lack nothing.   In Matthew 24:6-13 Jesus says:   “See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.”    According to what Jesus says, we may not survive the various trials and the tribulations we face. We may be hated and killed for our faith. But, we should consider joyfully that we are saved, enduring  even to the end, by faith.

The text continues saying:  But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.   We should understand that this is not a separate thought or exhortation, but rather a continuation of what James is saying because the text also continues saying: Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.    So the wisdom we are to ask for if we lack, is the wisdom of how to persevere and endure the trials we face. We should ask believing that God will give us the wisdom we need to endure and that also He will give us all that we need. Every good thing and every perfect gift is from God.    James says:  Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.    We need to recognize that even to doubt God is a sin. In Revelation 21:6-8, the Lord says:   “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”    1 Corinthians 10:13 says:  No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.    Whether it is temptation to engage in immoral or abominable acts, or the temptation to fear and doubt, Jesus is the way out of temptation. He bore everything for us so that through Him we can bear whatever is before us. We can bear it with joy. In John 16:33 Jesus says:   "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."  Romans 8:31-39 says:  What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?  He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?  Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.  Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Through Christ we too have overcome all that would come against us.

Whatever we are facing, the world will offer many answers for us to get through the trials we face.  But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.   Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials. Christ is: The Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.  Even though we may only be at the beginning of our trial, Jesus has already taken care of the end. Through Him we not only endure, but we overcome.

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit; I ask that You would give me the wisdom to know the way out of every temptation and trial. Because of what Jesus endured for me, I joyfully endure what comes against me, knowing that it is already done, overcome by Christ.   Amen.