And the trials begin

If you remember, last week we talked about how we should count it pure joy whenever you face trials, because that is what produces your faith. I want to list a few of the things that have been brought to my attention in the last 10 days.

1.    Deadly tornados across the states

2.    A friends sister and husband lost their 1 week old baby, they have no children and this will be the 2^nd baby they will have to bury this Friday…unbearable

3.    3 grandfathers (from different families) are in the hospital each with serious conditions.

4.    A family lost their grandmother and their 3 year old little boy in a car accident

5.    A distant relative’s wife was shot & killed & her baby was kidnapped, thank you Jesus the baby was found

6. A friends dad had another stroke this week & is in the hospital and now his mom had a mini stroke today & is in the hospital too.

7.    My Papa, whom I am extremely close to, as well as my family and more importantly my 6 year old son. Was just diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer…it is everywhere. For my family this will be the 3^rd inner circle person we have lost in 2 years. There are so many details and sadness that I want to tell you, for now I can hardly pull it together to write this.

I mean what do we say to all of that? How are we supposed to function at all? I want to take my family and run, but where to?

I’m sure some of you may stop here, and I wouldn’t blame you. Either way in life, we have to talk about it; we have to figure out how to cope.

James tells us it is not if, it is when. I’m thinking this is “when” for a lot of us. Sometimes, I am overwhelmed, let me rephrase that, sometimes I am devastated by God allowing me to experience firsthand exactly what I’m studying. This morning I had a huge feeling of regret that I decided two weeks ago to study James. It wasn’t until I sat down and prayed about it that I realized whether I had chosen to study James or not it would not have changed the trials, this was just a way for God to help me push through it.

So the question I am asking today is, “What do we do about it?” Before I attempt to answer this let’s take a look at James 1:13-15.

 ¹³ When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; ¹⁴ but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. ¹⁵ Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Let me just say that I am “tempted” the throw in the towel on this one. I am mad, I am heart broken and I am confused. But today I am thanking God for making these verses so fresh in my mind.  

I want to receive the temptation and act on it. I want to half way believe that God is in charge and loves us more than we could ever imagine. I want to half way be tempted to believe that bad things are going to continue to happen because evil has so consumed this world and live in constant terror over what is to come next. I want to run and hide. I am tempted to be mad…

I wonder if all the ones (that I mentioned) who are laying their loved ones to rest this week are tempted in some of this too. I hope that I am not taking what James 1:13-15 is saying out of context. I believe that any desire other than the desire of doing what is right in the eyes of the LORD comes from the evil one. Just as it says after the desire is conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

We cannot say that God is tempting us, however we do have to take on the test and pursue the limits of our endurance and faith we have in him. I don’t want Satan to gain one ounce of satisfaction through any of this.

Romans 5:1-5 says,

¹ Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we^[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we^[b] rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we^[c] also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

And one of my favorites.

2 Corinthians 4:7,

⁷ But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. ⁸ We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

We have to take a stand against the schemes of our enemy. If we don’t have hope in our Lord Jesus Christ what do we have?

James 1:16-18 says, ¹⁶ Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers. ¹⁷ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. ¹⁸ He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

I love that he is our heavenly light, who does not change like shifting shadows. He wants us to be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. He wants us to give our first and the best of all we have to him at all times, in all trials. (The first-century Christians were the first generation to believe in Jesus as Messiah, James is referring to them as the first fruits in this passage.)

I’m not saying that I am there yet. Our family is about to travel down a long hard road that none of us are excited about. I’m praying that at some point I can understand and experience what James means by counting pure joy in these trials. I had such intentions of finishing the first chapter of James today; I’m guessing God had other plans.

So today just commit to pray, pray and pray again for all of those you know that are hurting. We need it. And please pray for the salvation of my Papa, Gene Clare. He has not yet accepted Christ, the seed has been planted for years and this may be what has needed to happen to make it grow. I hate it, but I really wouldn’t be able to function if that doesn’t happen.

In Him

The crown of life

The book of James

James, Jesus’ brother, wrote these letters to the Jewish-Christians who were scattered throughout the Roman world. Back then they did not have the support of established churches, so he wrote to them as a concerned leader to encourage them through faith during difficult times.

James 1:1-12

¹ James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings.

Trials and Temptations

² 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.

Don’t you love when someone just speaks out of truth and honesty sometimes? James isn’t suggesting that you may go through trials or here is some helpful information in case trails come your way. No, he says, 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. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

The King James Version uses the word patience instead of perseverance. The Greek definition for patience in this passage is: hupomone – meaning cheerful, or hopeful, endurance, constancy.

We will be tested wont we? I see an ongoing cycle in my life that looks a little something like this.

(1) The testing and the perseverance of the trail, (2) the sifting & the cleansing I receive from the trail and (3) the freedom and the joy in receiving the crown of life once we’ve made it to the end of the trail. Repeat – Anybody else?

James goes on to say,

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.

Picture this visual with me. You’re in the middle of the ocean, for this purpose will represent your trial or circumstance. Because you are a Christian (meaning received Jesus as your personal savior) God equips you with a boat (representing the Word of God). When you trust God with your circumstance he becomes your anchor (which represents faith). So when the waves began to swell all around you, you hold steady.

Then picture with me what it may look like to have doubt in trusting God. You are on a boat out in the middle of the ocean, you are trusting God to save you but you are doubting his ability or love to do so. So you’re riding on the Word of God but lacking (doubting) the trust and faith for God to see you through. You’ve now become a lost vessel among the sea being tossed and carried at the mercy of something that you have no control over.  You set sail without your anchor and if the storm gets too intense you take the risk of capsizing and sinking, disoriented and afraid. I sometimes think that Satan tries to make our trials look easier or more manageable than what they really are to try and convince us that we can go about it alone. Trust me, we need our anchor.

James continues;

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.

What James is talking about here is this. Riches in earthly wealth mean nothing to God. He cares about the riches in our heart. He wants what will last eternally, not the things that will be burned up eventually. When we are the most humble before God, we are the richest. We become poor when we think our material richness trumps the power and authority and love our LORD has over us.  1 John 2:17¹⁷ The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

Let's close with this. James 1:12

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.

I read in the study notes of my bible that the crown of life is like the victory wreath given to the winning athlete. We see all throughout scripture God showing us the different crowns we will receive. Example: the crown of life (James 1:12, Rev 2:10), the crown of Joy (1 Thessalonians 2:19), the crown of righteousness (2 Tim 4:8), crown of glory (1Peter 5:4), just to name a few. We know that after the rapture takes place we will stand before Him and lay them at His feet. How exciting is that. I don’t want to be finished too quickly having to watch everyone else lay theirs down, I’m not meaning this in a competitive way (I promise!). I just want to honor Him by laying down all the times I've believed Him and trusted Him fully with His plan.

I can picture a time in my life that I jumped ship and found myself in the middle of the ocean with nothing but a raft. I was clinging onto something that I made into my anchor and hung it around my neck. Once the first blow from the storm came I was over taken by the waves and nearly drowned.

We need to be equipped. He offers us the Word of God, Faith and Trust. We have to persevere through the storms and allow him to be our anchor. Then we will walk away with the crown of life, let me say that again, then we will walk away with the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
Join me next week as we look into the 2^nd part of James 1. It gets really good.