Experiencing a Faith That Works
1st in the Series
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings.
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Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.9
The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. 10 But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. 11 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 man will fade away even while he goes about his business.12
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. –– James 1:1-12 (NIV)
The story I’m about to share illustrates what it means to have a hard day.
I am writing in response to your request for additional information. In block number 3 of the accident reporting form, I put, "Poor Planning", as the cause of my accident. You said in your letter that I should explain more fully, and I trust that the following details will be sufficient:
I am a bricklayer by trade. On the day of the accident, I was working alone on the roof of a ten-story building. When I completed my work, I discovered I had about 500 pounds of bricks left over. Rather than carry them down by hand, I decided to lower them to the ground in a barrel by using a pulley which, fortunately, was attached to the side of the building at the tenth floor.
Securing the rope at ground level, I went to the roof, loaded the 500 pounds of bricks, then went back down to the ground and untied the rope, holding it tightly to insure a slow descent of the 500 pounds of bricks. (You will note in block 11 of the accident reporting form that I weigh 135 pounds). Due to my surprise at being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence of mind and forget to let go of the rope. Needless to say, I proceeded at a rapid rate up the side of the building.
In the vicinity of the fifth floor, I met the barrel coming down. This explains the fractured skull and broken collarbone. I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping until the fingers of my right hand were two knuckles deep into the pulley. Fortunately, by this time I had regained my presence of mind and was able to hold tightly to the rope in spite of my pain.
At approximately this same time, however, the barrel of bricks hit the ground, and the bottom fell out of the barrel. Devoid of the weight of the bricks, the barrel now weighed approximately 30 pounds. I refer you again to my weight in block number 11 of the accident reporting form. As you might imagine, I began a rapid descent down the side of the building. In the vicinity of the fifth floor, I met that barrel coming up again! This accounts for the two fractured ankles and lacerations of my legs and lower body.
The second encounter with the barrel slowed me enough to lessen my injuries when I fell into the pile of bricks, and fortunately, only three vertebrae were cracked. I am sorry to report, however, that as I lay there on the bricks –– in pain and unable to stand –– watching the empty barrel ten stories above me –– I again lost my presence of mind –– I LET GO OF THE ROPE.
This guy was having a bad day. I would certainly say that he was in the midst of a trial. You might not be having his kind of day, but all of us have had days that we thought, at the time, were almost as bad as his. Troubles come to all of us. None of us are exempt.
In real life there are plenty of problems. Just look at the news. It is full of the bad news that is happening all around us. Just this past week, because of the sentencing of the woman in Manteo, North Carolina, we were reminded of the tragic deaths of the four girls from our area. At only 17, their lives were cut short by a drunk driver. Think of their parents. How do they deal with that? How would you face such a horrific situation like that? I can’t imagine it.
Often we reel at situations far less difficult, but they are hard for us. The loss of a job, a broken relationship, or difficulties at work –– an untimely death or a lingering illness or a depression that will not lift –– a wayward child or an unfaithful spouse or an abusive parent often make us feel overwhelmed. Can that change? Is there any help for dealing with difficulties? What do we do when life closes in on us? Is there any help in the Bible?
James writes to Christians going through hardship. These Christians were going through persecution. They were dealing with discrimination. They were suffering trials and tribulations. James addresses this situation in a practical way. By doing so, he gives them hope. But he does it in a somewhat unusual way. Rather than consoling them, he challenges them. He challenges them to rethink their difficulties. And he challenges them to trust God in the midst of their difficulties.
We face the same question they were dealing with: How can I change the way I respond to hard times? You see, that is the real question to ask. Often, we ask the wrong question: How can I avoid trials? The truth is that we can’t avoid trials. Trials all are inevitable! In verse 2 he says, "whenever you face trials" not "if you face trials." Everybody faces trials. They are a fact of life. We can’t escape them, so we must learn to deal with them. Trials also come in many shapes and sizes. Again, in verse 2 he says, "whenever you face trials of many kinds." Over our lifetime we will face many different kinds of trials. So the question we should be asking is: How can I change the way I respond to hard times? Can I begin to respond in such a way that I am not overcome by emotions of dread? Can I begin to respond in such a way that enables me to face the hard times with joy? Let’s look at the keys that unlock the door to the power to face difficulties with joy.
The first thing we need to do is to reflect on the purpose of trials. It might surprise you to know that God has a purpose in bringing us through trials. Knowing that trials have a purpose can make a big difference in how you face the hard time you’re going through. God has not abandoned us, no matter how much we may feel he has. In fact, the hard time may be the best evidence that he is at work in us for our good.
James says that one thing that is happening in the trial is that our faith is being tested. Our faith is being tested so that we can reflect more of Jesus. Peter talks of this testing when he writes in 1 Peter 1:6-7:
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
This testing is proving our faith. It is refining our faith. It is producing in us the godly characteristics of the nature of Jesus Christ. Like gold passed through the furnace, these trials are having their effect on our lives. I understand that as gold is passed through the fiery furnace the impurities come to the top and are ladled off. The test of the purity of the gold is when the Goldsmith looks into it and can see his face clearly reflected. If that is true, it is a tremendous illustration of what God is doing in our lives. You see, we are called to reflect the image of God. We are called to be conformed to the image of Christ. God is not so much interested in whether we are comfortable or not. God is interested in whether we look like Jesus. And he is willing to do whatever is necessary for that to be accomplished.
The difficult times are also producing perseverance. The word perseverance comes from two Greek words. The first means "to remain" and the second means "under." So, perseverance means, "to remain under." But the connotation in this passage of Scripture is "one who remains under trials" and doesn’t crack. The idea here is stability. Perseverance is standing steadfastly in the midst of trial, unflinchingly facing it in the faith of Jesus Christ. God wants to bring us to the place where we patiently wait upon him to do his work in us. He wants to develop within us the patient assurance that he is at work.
The hard time of trials also results in our spiritual maturity. God is building into us what we need to become more like Christ. This is, of course, his goal for all of us. James says that the goal is to "be mature an complete, not lacking anything."
So we see that God has a purpose for our trials. Knowing that gives us hope. Knowing that gives us strength. Knowing that helps us to be steadfast under the pressure. Knowing that helps us make it through to the other side. So we must reflect on the purpose of trials.
The second key to facing our difficulties is to trust in the Lord in the midst of the trial. If God is at work, we need to look to him in faith. James tells us that if we lack wisdom we simply need to ask God. If we seek God’s wisdom, he will give it to us generously. Trusting God in the midst of the hard time means that we seek and ask and come to him.
Trust that he will show you what you need to know and give you what you need to have to successfully face the trial. What we see here is a call to faith. It is a call to be dependent upon God. A Christian who thinks he can do it in his own power is a dangerous person. God does not want people who think they can do it on their own strength. Especially in this country, that is a tough lesson to learn. We are raised to be independent, to pride ourselves on our own individualism. But when it comes to serving the living God, it is essential to learn how to be dependent.
So trust in the Lord. Don’t doubt that he is at work. Doubt will only result in instability. Doubt will make us "like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind." Doubt makes us "double minded." We are called to trust God as little children naturally trust their parents. That is a key to facing trials.
The next key to facing the hard times that come our way is to take a look at the big picture, not just the trial. In other words, we need to cultivate a clear perspective of who we are and of what is the situation we are in. James says, "The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position." In other words, each of us should take time to reflect on the other side of the coin. Someone once said that things are never as bad as they seem and things are never as good as they seem. Those in "humble circumstances" should be saying, "how rich I am in Jesus Christ!" The rich ought to be saying, "What a mortal I am. I’m nothing special because I have money."
We need to see ourselves from God’s perspective. We need to see that some of the things we think are so important are not really that important at all. Success is not measured by money and business status. James says "the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business." I can almost see him scurrying here and there, working long hours, devoting his life to the pursuit of that which will fade away. A person’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things possessed. "For one will a man be profited if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?" (Matthew 16:26a) What will it profit him? Nothing. He will leave it all here. We need to cultivate a clear perspective of what is really important. Who you are is not determined by whether you have a lot or a little, but by your submission to God.
Another key to handling the hard times is to focus on the reward that we will receive for enduring the trial. James tells us that we are "blessed." He tells us that if we hang in there, and persevere under trial, we will receive "the crown of life."
You are going to get two things if you persevere under trial: happiness (the literal translation of "blessed") and a crown of life. I do believe this crown of life is simply life in the hereafter. I believe that it is being able to live life to its full potential, being able to follow Jesus Christ victoriously. You see, we were created to be victors, not victims, of the trials we endure. We are to be those who have "stood the test." That phrase can also be translated by the word "approved." Those of us who persevere under trial are approved by God. This word in Greek is found on the pottery in Jesus’ day. If the pottery made it through the fire without cracking or breaking, it was inscribed with the Greek word dokimos (approved). If it passed through the fire and cracked, they inscribed it adokimos (not approved). I don’t know about you but I want to be stamped "approved." We need to focus on the reward.
This brings us full circle back to the challenge that James gave us at the very beginning. He challenged us to "consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds." And by reflecting on the purpose of trials, trusting in the Lord in the midst of the trial, looking at the big picture from God’s perspective, and focusing on the reward, we can consider it pure joy that we are being made complete and mature in Christ.
God is at work in our trials. If we trust him, we will see that work. Our trials come to make us better not bitter. And how we respond makes all the difference. A man once said:
When the tides of life turn against you,
And the current upsets your boat,
Don't waste those tears on what might have been,
Just lie on your back and float.
That was Ed Norton in The Honeymooners. Well, if it causes you to look up, maybe that’s good.
Doug Goins, one of the pastors at Penninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto, California told the story of a woman he met when he was in junior high school. She lived about four doors down the street from him in Seattle, Washington. Let me quote him:
Her name was Helen Hayworth Lemmel. She was in her nineties. She had been born and raised in wealth in England, and was well-known as a songwriter. As a matter of fact, Mrs. Lemmel probably wrote seventy or eighty Christian hymns and gospel songs that were popular in the 1920s through the early 1950s. Mrs. Lemmel had married into nobility; her husband was a lord. But she was stricken with blindness as a very young woman, and her husband divorced her because he didn’t want to be married to a blind woman. I don’t know all the circumstances, but somehow she ended up destitute in Seattle, Washington, a ward of King County, living in a tiny room in a home where the rent was paid by the county.
Every time we would visit her or she would come to our home, we would ask her how she was doing, and she would always say, "I am fine in the things that count." That’s a godly perspective on things that could be embarrassing or humiliating.
One final thing about Helen Lemmel: she had in her room a little plastic organ on a table. It was like a child’s chord organ. She would play that and cry and sing. She had this vision of getting to heaven and having a mighty, thundering pipe organ. She didn’t see the little plastic organ as a disadvantage. It was just a foretaste of glory. This was a down payment on what God was going to do for her, and she counted on that. Another of her sayings was "I can hardly wait!"
You probably know the most famous song that Mrs. Lemmel wrote:
"Turn your eyes upon Jesus.
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace."
Going through hard times doesn’t have to give us hard hearts. You may be facing hard times today. God knows all about them, and he cares. It may be hard. But God will get you through. Trust him in it. Seek him in it. Don’t give up. Hang in there.
Ask yourself these questions about the hard time you are facing:
What is God producing in me through this hard time? That’s reflecting on the purpose.
How can I trust God in the midst of this trial? That’s trusting in the Lord.
How can I see the big picture from God’s perspective? That’s looking at the big picture.
What is at stake in this trial for me and those who are watching me? That’s focusing on the reward.
How can I praise the Lord in the midst of this trial? That’s considering it pure joy.
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