“Consider
it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of
many kinds” (James 1:2, NIV).
James,
the brother of Jesus, did not believe in Jesus as the son of God
until after the Resurrection. After his conversion James became a
leader in the church in Jerusalem, and eventually became the head of
the church there. In this verse he addresses Christians in Jerusalem
who face persecution because of their beliefs, and he encourages them
to consider the trials of their faith as joy. James calls it “pure”
joy. It is the kind of joy that has been refined in the fire of life.
All impurity has been burned away, and only the purest element
remains.
A trial tests strength.
For the early Christians and for us, it tests our faith, our honesty,
and our spiritual ability to withstand the world's onslaught. You
don't know how strong or how weak your faith might be until it is
tested by a trial. James declares that our lives are filled with
trials. We may be plagued by illness, or a financial crisis. We may
face the death of someone close to us, or great loss in other ways.
Someone may take advantage of us, and perhaps we may be falsely
accused of something we didn't do. The
phrase “whenever you face trials” reveals that trials are just
unavoidable. You can’t escape them. The Lord does not insulate us
from the trials of life. He allows them to shape us and,
hopefully, make us stronger. Look at Job. He believed in God, and was
a righteous man. God allowed Satan to test Job, and his whole life
was a massive trial. Trials can make us bitter or they can make us
better. Job would not turn against the Lord no matter what came
against him. “He knows the way that I take,” Job declared. “When
has tested me, I will come forth as gold” (Job 23:10, NIV).
Job's
attitude during his horrendous suffering was paramount for his faith
in God to flourish. Your attitude in the midst of life's trials is
paramount for you to spiritually become the person God intends you to
be. You can just endure with a bitter attitude, or you can consider
whatever you face as something which will make you stronger–something
which will burn away the impurities of bitterness and negativity.
Job's kind of attitude makes the best of whatever happens. It sees
positive whenever faced with trials and struggles. It believes in
God's best no matter what it hears or sees. It believes in the
potential that only God sees. That kind of attitude turns what Satan
can use to destroy you into what God can use to prosper you (Romans
8:28).
“Consider
in pure joy,” James writes, “whenever you face trials.” God
wants you to spiritually grow and realize that trials can actually
produce joy which remains strong and unshakable. When tested and
fired in the kiln of life, this kind joy becomes refined as gold, and
nothing can rob you of its promise. You have fought for it, and
allowed it to define your life. It is joy of the purest kind.
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