Well, I don't think that's probably the best way to deal with problems, although avoidance is one of the easiest solutions....at least at first.  But there may be a better way.  James describes that better way in this passage of scripture.  He wrote to a scattered and persecuted group of people.  His message: Be joyful in the midst of your struggles and problems; find unexpected joy!

THE UNEXPECTED JOY
"James a Servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:
Greetings.  Consider it pure joy, my brothers whenever you face trials of many kinds, (James 1:1-2 NIV)

I don't know about you, but it seems to me that about the last thing I'm expected to find when I'm going through a hard time is joy.  It just isn't the natural reaction.  Yet James exhorts us, Consider it all joy, or consider it pure joy when you go through hard times.  Even the word "Greeting" finds its roots in the Greek word for joy.

I believe James is first of all telling us that trials may require an attitude adjustment: we will need to choose to be joyful.  Ella Wheeler Wilcox speaks of that choice:

"One ship sails east. One ship sails west. Regardless of how the winds blow.
It is the set of the sail and not the gale that determines the way we go."

When we encounter hard times, our attitude may be one of the few things that we can change.  Instead of becoming frustrated, angry or bitter, we can choose to find unexpected joy.  Instead of worry, we can choose to trust God and find a "peace that passes understanding"

Yet it is more than just singing "Don't worry....be happy" and putting on a plastic smile and pretending that everything is O.K.  James isn't telling us to do that.  He gives us a definite reason why we can experience joy even in the midst of our difficult times:  because God is using this hard time to teach you to trust him and to develop maturity through persevering faith.

Perhaps you can relate to the word of Tim Hansel in his book, Holy Sweat:
"We don't get a free detour around problems when we become a Christian: we get a guided tour through them....When we spend time regretting the past and worrying about what the future will bring, we rush past God who is the ultimate source of joy."

Trials are an opportunity to learn to trust God and find the peace and joy that only he can bring.

THE UNWANTED REALITY
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds," (1:2)

There is a teaching going around today that says we can live life "above our trials...we can rise victorious above them and not have to endure them if we have enough faith."  James gives no such indication.  "Whenever" expresses the unwanted reality that we will all go though these difficult times.  Some worse than others, some more than others, but we will all have them.  Larry Crabb says it well:

"Finding God in this life, does not mean building a house in a land of no storms; rather it means building a house that no storm can destroy." (Finding God, p. 71)

While we all go though trials, we have a God who we can lean on,  a God who we can trust.

What is a trial anyway?  A trial might be defined as anything that tests your faith or proves that it is genuine. Any difficulty that puts your faith to the test.  Any hard time that shows the quality and integrity of your faith in God.  There can be many kinds of trials, as our text says.

We may think that as we mature that the trials will be easier.  I don't believe that is true.  We will gain maturity through them, but I have visited enough nursing homes and stood by enough hospital beds to know that the hardest trials of life can often be near the end of our journey.  That's the unwanted reality.  Trials are a part of life and we won't outgrow them.  So we had better learn how to deal with them and grow through them.

THE UNENDING PROCESS
"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." (James 1:3-4)

William Ward said: "Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records."  History is filled with the stories of men and women who have grown through adversity and become great.  Often they will point to the character that was developed through those difficult times.  The same thing is true of Christians: maturity and Christ-like character are developed through times of adversity.

A trial causes us to "walk by faith not by sight".  In these times we must hang on to the "certain hope" that comes through faith in the promises of God.  When we go through a "storm of life" all that we see is painful; hard to understand.  If we were to walk by sight we would easily become worried or upset at our circumstances.  But these are times where we learn to trust.  When all we can see is discouraging, we must look with eyes of faith to the author and finisher of our faith, Jesus.  Defeat comes as we look at the circumstances, victory comes through walking by faith.

Notice that this faith is to be a "persevering" faith.  Barclay defines the word this way:  "This is not a patience that passively endures; instead it is the quality that enables a man to stand on his feet facing the storm."  I'm not sure that we understand that very well.  I think most of us have a "survival mentality" when we encounter trials not a "perseverance" mentality.  When it gets tough we just kind of hide and hope it goes away.  Like Charlie Brown we try to avoid our problems.

For me the difference between "passive" endurance and "perseverance" is best illustrated by the difference between an Ohio winter storm and a Minnesota winter storm.  In Ohio, we endure the storm. We stay home; we can't wait for the storm to be over.  In the process we hibernate in our homes until the storm passes by.

Growing up in Minnesota was different: we persevered.  We didn't let a storm stop us from doing what we wanted to do.  We would brave the storm and go do what we needed to do.  It was a rare day in Minnesota when snow or ice or blizzards kept us home.  In fact, I think most people rather enjoyed the challenge.  And of course they all loved to boast about how bad it was.  Instead of passively enduring, we persevered in the midst of the storm.

As Christians, We can persevere through storms.  Oh there may be blizzards so intense sometimes that keep us down for a bit, but as a rule, by faith we press against the wind and snow and just "keep on keepin on."
All the while finding joy in the fact that God is using this process to teach me to trust him.

There is another misconception I want to deal with: that we all necessarily grow through our trials.  I don't believe the growth is automatic.  I believe that the growth and maturity comes only through trusting God through those trials of our faith.   Some people become angry, frustrated or even bitter.  That isn't maturity.  Maturity comes through considering it joy and pressing on; walking by faith and not by sight.  Christian maturity is a life-long process, there are always new trials; new opportunities for growth.

THE UNMISTAKABLE PURPOSE
"Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."(4)

God's unmistakable purpose is to give us an opportunity to become "mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Dave Dravecky was a pitcher for the Padres and the Giants.  In 1988 he underwent surgery to remove a malignant tumor from his left arm.  He was told he would never pitch again.  Nevertheless he persevered and Aug. 10, 1989 he pitched eight inning for a victory against the Reds.  An incredible time of victory and celebration was ended quickly though for in his next game, against Montreal, the bone in his arm snapped.  After two years of complications, his arms was finally amputated.  From the valley of despair to the heights of victory and then back to despair again.  In this whole process.  Dravecky persevered in his faith.  In a Feb. 28, 1992 USA TODAY article, he gave this testimony:

"My faith is everything.  I've come to understand that God is really shaping and molding my character.  I've come to realize that real growth of character takes place in the valleys of life."

Dave Dravecky had learned an important truth that God uses "valleys" for the unmistakable purpose of growth and maturity.

In trials, we must trust.  As we trust in the Lord in spite of the circumstances and "fix our eyes on Jesus" we persevere and grow through those difficult times.  The key to growth is "trust".  Hudson Taylor understood that well, he wrote:

"It doesn't matter, really, how great the pressure is; it only matters where the pressure lies.  See that it never comes between you and the Lord--then, the greater the pressure, the more it presses you to His breast."

Don't you like that?  the greater the pressure, the more it presses you to His breast!  He wants us to trust him through those times.

C.H. Spurgeon wrote:  "As sure as God puts his children in the furnace he will be in the furnace with them."  Are you in a furnace this morning, a difficult or dangerous place?  Know that God is with you.  Trust him and keep on walking.  Trust in his promises and rest in his presence.

When you encounter trials in your life, remember that they are a part of God's purpose of making you more and more like Jesus.  They may not be pleasant but they are a part of his purpose.  Remember the lessons James gives us:  1) Check your attitude: be joyful; 2) Keep your eyes on the Lord and His promises; 3) Remember that he loves you and he is using this in your life to help you grow.

|     More Sermon Notes        |         Pastor Jeff's Place        |        Faith Alliance Church        |        Pastor Jeff's Favorites        |