Blessings through trials

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.

Many people today teach and seek a doctrine that focusses on the blessings of God. In today’s text it says:  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.   I think it’s fair to say that most people would prefer a blessing that does not come through a trial. Many people may not agree that difficult times are a blessing, but in Matthew 5:3-12 Jesus affirms that thought saying:   “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”   It is not the trial or the difficulty that is the blessing, but rather the blessing is what God has for us on the other side. The text 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.   Again, it is not the trial that we take joy in, but rather the knowledge that the trial, the test, produces endurance. Our faith is increased and we become perfected in Christ, lacking nothing. In Matthew 23:9-13 Jesus says:  “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” 

The text in James continues saying:  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.  God doesn’t reveal everything that will happen in our lives or all of His plans for us in advance. If we knew all that we would need to walk through from the beginning, we would not have faith to endure. In Jeremiah 29:11, God says:  I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.   Philippians 1:6 says:  I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.   God wants to and will fulfill His plans for our lives, even when in the midst of difficult times it might not seem like it. 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 cause even the difficult things in our lives to work for our good. When we don’t understand we need to ask Him for wisdom.  It is important though that when we ask, we need to not only ask believing that He will answer, but we must also ask being ready to respond in obedience to His answer. We need to trust not only that He has our best result in mind, but also that He has the best path for us. In Psalm 23:4 the psalmist says:  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.  Even if our path is through the valley of the shadow of death we can trust God. We can be comforted knowing that He has a plan for our good and He will be faithful to complete it. We will be perfected; conformed to the image of Christ. Even if we die with Him, we will be raised with Him. Death is merely a shadow. It has no power over us.  

The text says:  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.    God doesn’t bring difficulties into our lives to tempt us. He does not tempt anyone. What ever is difficult is not from God, but if we have faith we can endure with and through Christ. 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.  God has only good in mind for us and He will cause all the difficult things in our lives to lead us on the path that He has for us if we will trust Him.

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit that You have only good in mind for me. Help me to endure the difficult times in faith. Guide me in obedience to walk the path that You have for me. That I may be, be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing, conformed to the perfect image of Christ.   Amen.