James 1:2-4 - Let Trials Make You More Like Jesus.
James 1:2-4 (NLT) Dear brothers and sisters,
when troubles come your way, consider it an
opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your
faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to
grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is
fully developed, you will be perfect and complete,
needing nothing.
INTRODUCTION
James doesnt say if you face trials, but
whenever you face them. He assumes that we will have
trials and that it is possible to profit from them.
The point is not to pretend to be happy when we
face pain, but to have a positive outlook
(consider it pure joy) because of what trials can
produce in our lives. James tells us to turn our
hardships into times of learning. [Life Application
SB]
We can't really know the depth of our
character until we see how we react under pressure. It
is easy to be kind to others when everything is
going well, but can we still be kind when others
are treating us unfairly? God wants to make us
mature and complete, not to keep us from all pain.
Instead of complaining about our struggles, we
should see them as opportunities for growth. Thank
God for promising to be with you in rough times.
Ask him to help you solve your problems or to
give you the strength to endure them. Then be
patient. God will not leave you alone with your
problems; he will stay close and help you grow. [Life
Application SB]
COMMENTARY PEARL
Without Fail
Hachik was an Akita renowned for his
extreme loyalty. His master, Professor Hidesabur
Ueno, regularly took the train home from work.
Every day at 3:00 PM, his faithful dog would be
waiting for him at the Shibuya Station in Tokyo,
Japan. One day, Ueno died suddenly during a class.
Nonetheless, the next day, Hachik made his way to the
station to wait for the 3:00 PM. train, just as he
always had - and continued to do so daily, without
fail, until his own death nine years later.
Today's passage tells us that the trials
we go through prove our faithfulness. Undue
hardship brings Christians to decidedly depend more
upon God. This strengthening of our faith
demonstrates the belief that our Master, Jesus Christ,
will return someday to take away all death and
sadness and finally take us home. This faith, tested
time and again in this life, develops in us a
patience, or steadfast endurance. It changes our
characters until, as the verse promises, we are
"perfect and complete, lacking nothing" We are
promised that the trials borne patiently in faith
will ultimately transform us into the perfect
character of Christ, "the pioneer and perfecter of our
faith" (Hebrews 12:2 NRSV).
May we look to Christ as our example,
"who for the joy that was set before Him endured
the cross" While we might not know the reason
for our present sufferings, we can "count it all
joy" in claiming the promised result - that God
will use them to make us fit for His heavenly
kingdom. May our lives be dedicated to actively
waiting for Him, without fail.
Perfecter of my faith, help me to be
joyful through my trials, remembering the
life-transforming salvation You have promised. [The Most
Amazing Bible Promises by Amazing Facts]
COMMENTARY
The Meaning of Trials
Our sorrows do not spring out of the
ground. In every affliction God has a purpose to
work out for our good. Every blow that destroys
an idol, every providence that weakens our hold
upon earth and fastens our affections more firmly
upon God, is a blessing. The pruning may be
painful for a time, but afterward it yieldeth the
peaceable fruit of righteousness. We should receive
with gratitude whatever will quicken the
conscience, elevate the thoughts, and ennoble the life.
The fruitless branches are cut off and cast into
the fire. Let us be thankful that through
painful pruning, we may retain a connection with the
living Vine; for if we suffer with Christ, we shall
also reign with him. The very trial that taxes
our faith the most severely and makes it seem as
though God had forsaken us, is to lead us more
closely to him, that we may lay all our burdens at
the feet of Christ, and experience the peace
which he will give us in exchange. Let no
Christian feel that he is forsaken when the hour of
trial comes upon him. Not a sparrow falls to the
ground without your heavenly Father's notice. God
loves and cares for the feeblest of his creatures,
and we cannot dishonor him more than by doubting
his love to us. O let us cultivate that living
faith that will trust him in the hour of darkness
and trial! Living faith in the merits of a
crucified Redeemer will carry men through the fiery
furnace of affliction and trial, and the form of the
Fourth will be with them in the furnace, however
fierce its heat; and they will come forth from its
flame with not even the smell of the fire on their
garments. RH April 10, 1804
Trials Will Come
For he doth not afflict willingly nor
grieve the children of men. Lamentations 3:33.
Our heavenly Father does not willingly
afflict or grieve the children of men. He has His
purpose in the whirlwind and the storm, in the fire
and in the flood. The Lord permits calamities to
come to His people to save them from greater
dangers. He desires everyone to examine his own heart
closely and carefully, and then draw near to God,
that God may draw near to him. Our life is in the
hands of God. He sees dangers threatening us that
we cannot see
Every soul that is saved must be a
partaker with Christ of His sufferings, that he may
be a partaker with Him of His glory. How few
understand why God subjects them to trial. It is by the
trial of our faith that we gain spiritual
strength. The Lord seeks to educate His people to lean
wholly upon Him. {UL 65}
Learning from Trials
It would be nice if we could see the
trials in our lives as options, as electives. It
would be convenient if we could say, "I'm going to
skip the trials course."
But the fact is, we don't have that
option. Trials will come into the lives of every
believer. Notice that James says, "Count it all joy
when you fall into various trials." The phrase
various trials could also be translated
"many-colored trials" or "trials of many kinds." In other
words, no two trials or experiences are necessarily
alike.
You will be tested. The question is, will
you pass or fail?
We must remember that God never tests us
without a reason. God's ultimate purpose is to
conform us into the image of Jesus Christ. God wants
to produce a family likeness in us. This means
that some difficulties and testings will show us
immediate results, while others will produce long-term
ones.
There are times when I can emerge from a
trial, look back, and say, "I learned this when I
went through that experience." But there will be
other times when I come through a difficulty, and
all I will be able to do is shake my head and
say, "What was that all about?" I may not be able
to tell you (at that moment) what I have
learned.
But what has happened, maybe unnoticed by
me, is that I have become a little bit more like
Jesus. He has worked in my life to mold me and
shape me into His own image. It may be hard or
impossible to point to definitive results in our lives
after a time of pressure, setbacks, or testing.
Even so, we can know that God is in control. And
we can know that His ultimate purpose is to
conform us into the image of His own dear Son.
[Every Day with Jesus by Greg Laurie]
Growing Endurance
While Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving
the Ten Commandments, he didnt know how bad
things were back at the camp where he had left
Aaron in charge. He didnt yet know that the
people were dancing around a golden calf and
calling it their god.
So while he was there, the Lord said to
him, I have seen how stubborn and rebellious
these people are. Now leave me alone so my fierce
anger can blaze against them, and I will destroy
them. Then I will make you, Moses, into a great
nation (Exodus 32:9-10 NLT).
But Moses interceded for them. He stood
in the gap and prayed for them, and God changed
His mind. Then Moses descended from the mountain
to find the people engaged in full-tilt
idolatry and immorality. And Aaron offered the most
ridiculous excuse of all time to justify their horrible
behavior.
Moses was so angry that he took the two
tablets of stone he had been carrying and threw them
on the ground, smashing them into pieces.
I think God used this experience to
develop Moses and test him. Maybe God has been
testing you lately, and youre wondering why. Why
does God allow trials, tribulation, and hardship
in the lives of His children?
James 1 tells us, Dear brothers and
sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way,
consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you
know that when your faith is tested, your
endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for
when your endurance is fully developed, you will
be perfect and complete, needing nothing
(James 1:2-4 NLT).
God lets us go through these trials to
strengthen us. Trials are like Gods gym. We break
down muscle to build it up, and well be
stronger as a result. [By Greg Laurie from Harvest
Ministries; https://www.harvestdaily.com]
You Dont Always Need Sunshine to Grow
It's possible to grow during times of
bright, fair weather - but you put down deeper roots
during the dark days of life.
As a pastor, I heard from countless
people who said they had grown more through
separation, illness, job loss, or tragedy than they
would have otherwise. They recognized how God had
used difficulty to draw them closer to him and
mature them.
The Bible says it this way: "When your
faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to
grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is
fully developed, you will be perfect and complete,
needing nothing" (James 1:3-4 NLT).
When you let God into your problems and
dont push him out, then youll develop
endurance that will make you ready for anything -
strong in character, full and complete.
Pain is the high cost of growth. The old
clich is true: There is no gain without pain. We
want the quick solution and the easy fix. We want
the pill or the seminar or the book that's going
to change everything without pain. We want the
product that brings maturity without the painful
process. But that isn't going to happen!
Theologian J. I. Packer said, "God uses
chronic pain and weakness, along with all the other
inflictions, as his chisel for sculpting our lives. It
deepens our dependence upon Christ for strength each
day. And the weaker we feel, the harder we lean,
and the harder we lean, the stronger we grow
spiritually."
The very thing that's discouraging you
right now is the very thing God is using to
develop you right now.
How was David able to write such
beautiful and powerful psalms? Because through all the
loneliness, neglect, and injustice he went through as a
young shepherd and even as a king, David knew God
was with him the whole time. David wrote his
most beautiful words in his deepest pain.
There will be growth in the painful parts
of life that you will not gain any other way.
The process will not make you perfect, but it
will move you toward being more like Christ. And
if youll trust God to keep you and walk with
you in your pain, he will develop endurance in
you and give you his peace and rest. [Daily
Devotional by Rick Warren:
https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]
CLOSING THOUGHT
Patience And Perfection
Patience isn't easy for most of us. If a
plane is delayed a few minutes or something
doesn't happen exactly when or how we expected it
to, we get impatient and frustrated. I have
heard of people who quit going to a particular
church because the preacher didn't stop exactly on
time! James said, "Be patient, then, brothers,
until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits
for the land to yield its valuable crop and how
patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You,
too, be patient and stand firm, because the
Lord's coming is near" (James 5:7-8, italics mine,
NIV).
Patience is not simply teeth-clenched"
endurance. It is an attitude of expectation. The farmer
patiently watches his barren ground because he knows
there will be results. He has patience in his
labors because there will be products of his
labor.
So it is in the spiritual realm. God
knows the final product of what is happening to
us, and He would have us link patience to our
faith. Ask God for the gift of patience - and then
use it. [Hope for Each Day by Billy Graham]
ILLUSTRATION
In the full light of day, and in hearing of
the music of other voices, the caged bird will
not sing the song that this master seeks to
teach him. He learns a snatch of this, a trill of
that, but never a separate and entire melody. But
the master covers the cage, and places it where
the bird will listen to the one song he is to
sing. In the dark, he tries and tries again to
sing that song until it is learned, and he breaks
forth in perfect melody. Then the bird is brought
forth, and ever after he can sing that song in the
light. Thus God deals with His children. He has a
song to teach us, and when we have learned it
amid the shadows of affliction, we can sing it
ever afterward. MH472.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
Precious Jesus,
Help me to find Joy even in the most
unlikely places. I know this requires effort on my
part - searching for the good and refusing to let
my natural responses blind me to what is there.
Please open my eyes to see beyond the obvious so
that I can discover treasures hidden in my
troubles.
You've been teaching me that living
joyously is a choice. Because I inhabit such a
sinful, broken world, I must make the effort to
choose gladness many times a day. This is
especially true during my difficult times. Your Word
tells me to consider it pure joy whenever I face
trials of many kinds. This verse shows me that when
I encounter various difficulties, Im being
put to the test. Such trials can strengthen my
faith - which is much more precious than gold -
and prove that it is genuine.
Thank You, Jesus, for making the
excruciating decision to endure the cross for the Joy set
before You - the eternal pleasure of bringing many
sons and daughters to Glory. Please enable me to
choose Joy by fixing my eyes on You and looking for
treasures in my trials.
In Your courageous Name, Amen (James
1:2-3; 1 Peter 1:6-7 NKJV; Hebrews 12:2; Hebrews
2:10) [Jesus Listens by Sarah Young]
LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY
James 1:2-4 - Let Trials Make You More Like
Jesus.
https://www.abible.com/devotions/2021/20210504-0932.html
James 1:2-4 - Trials as Teachers.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2013/20131121-1340.html
James 1:2-4 - Profiting from Trials.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2012/20121129-1536.html
James 1:4 - Mature Fruit.
https://www.abible.com/devotions/2023/20230313-0831.html
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
https://abible.com/links/
