James 1:2, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials.”  Count it all – joy?! All of it? Well, if you’ve ever gone through a trial, these words right off the bat may catch your attention and perk your ears. Because maybe instead of counting or considering it all joy, you count it as loss? I was thinking while studying this chapter, of the trials I’ve encountered. And I would say I have considered those trials many things – but counting them joy is not necessarily one of them. Some other words actually come to mind: anxious, overwhelming, frustrating, disappointing, inconvenient, unfair, maddening, upsetting…

I think the reason for this conflict of emotions on our part is often because we associate “meeting” the trial with the act of going “through” it. Verse 2 doesn’t say “while you are going through a trial.” It says, when you meet the trial.  The trial has just been presented or introduced to you.

This “meeting” or “encounter” also implies a prepared response. James didn’t say “if” you meet. He said, “when it happens.” We are also quick to apply this to our past, but this is not about what’s already happened, it’s about preparing you for what’s coming. James is writing to believers and he wants them to know that just because they have salvation does not mean their trials in this life will be obliterated. He wanted them to be prepared – before it happens.

Just like placing an umbrella in the trunk of your car and leaving it there even through the sunny days, so that when the time comes for rain…you are prepared to meet the weather.

Verse 2 also says they are “various” trials or trials of “various kinds.” Trials come in all shapes, colors, sizes, and durations. Your trial may not look like mine or it may not last as long as hers or it may not have the same outcome as his. So often we compare the trials we face to the trials others face and make a sweeping judgment of God toward ourself and others. We wonder why our story didn’t end like theirs. And we are tempted to immediately think God blessed them more than us or He cared more for them and their family than He did for us.

The important thing is that we remember our trials are not wasted. They are not a coincidence or a result of bad luck or fate. There is purpose to the trials in our life.  In v. 3, James says, “knowing that the testing of our faith…” – we need to know this, that our faith will be tested. And through this testing of our faith, it “produces endurance.” There is purpose to trials. God doesn’t allow trials to come into our life to destroy our faith. There is no evil intent, although you may feel it is very cruel of Him to allow you to experience these trials.

James 1:3, “knowing that the testing of our faith produces endurance.”

So then what’s the purpose of trials? James 1:3 tells us: to test our faith. Why? To “produce endurance.” What’s the purpose of that? Verse 4 tells us, “And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

One of the things I found interesting with regards to the testing of our faith is that the word for “testing” was often used when referring to the purification process of precious metals. This was done by putting them through extreme heat to remove the impurities. The tested metal would come out so pure you could see your reflection in it. What a picture for us! God’s testing brings forth His reflection in us. As we go through the heat, we become more like Him.

How many of us have us had our faith tested? And how many of us would say it was a painful process? Looking back, can we see how we have been growing through that process?

I am reminded of a quote we hear all the time that says, “a faith that can’t be tested, can’t be trusted.”

James 1:4 begins, “And let endurance have its perfect result.” This means hold nothing back. In other words, don’t get in the way; don’t fight it. Let it have its perfect result. Why? “That you may be perfect.” Mature. Without defect. Excellent. Complete. It doesn’t feel that way, but God wants to make you holy. He wants you to be a reflection of Him; and it’s the trials in life that make us more like Christ.

Trials in our life stir us toward the Lord. It wakes us up and gets our attention. We seek God fiercely when we’re in the midst of a trial. We start praying more – and we pray hard, but the problem is when that season of trial passes. Once the rough waters calm down, we are tempted to fall back into slumber and complacency in our walk with the Lord. We are tempted to think we don’t need Him anymore or that He’s no longer useful to us because our trial is over.  

I heard a great reminder, that we’re either going into a trial, in the middle of one now, or we’re coming out of one. So if you feel like you’re doing great, hang on!

James 1:5 says, “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”

Wisdom is the ability to discern or judge correctly what is true or right. The ability to make God-honoring decisions. It comes from obeying God and following His Word closely. And the first step to obtaining wisdom is to ask God for it.

And how are we told that God gives wisdom? Without reproach. When we go to God and ask for wisdom, we find Him waiting and willing. Why? Because the testing of your faith leads to some tough decisions you have to make. He knows our weakness. He is not trying to trick us or make us guess what to do. He wants us to know how to proceed and how to make sense of things.

James is urges us in 1:6 to come to God with our problems, and trust in His wise guidance. He says we are to ask for wisdom, “in faith.”  How? “Without any doubting.” When you doubt, you are uncertain in regard to the truth that God is able or willing. When you doubt, you are unsettled in your belief.

We need God’s wisdom so we can endure our trials. James describes the one enduring trials in 1:12 as “Blessed.” And he tells us our promised reward for remaining steadfast is, “the crown of life.” So hang on. Time is a potential tool in the hands of God.

Right now, you may not understand the “why.” You may be asking, “Why do I have to endure this trial?” But just wait; don’t quit on God. He will use time as a tool to minister to you. The promise of blessing is to those who endure.