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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
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 and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
James 1:1-3
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Today, we move from our study of Hebrews to a letter penned by James, largely believed to be the brother of our Savior Jesus. Of interest, the letter is penned to Hebrew Christians which makes it a good companion letter to the one we just spent time in. As we look at the opening verses, we see James is writing to the “twelve tribes of Israel scattered among the nations”, our clue as to who the audience is. And as we proceed to study through this letter, we will find referrals to the Old Testament law and how the new covenant calls Christian believers to a different way of living, a way of living modeled after Jesus who proclaimed Himself as being the Life (John 14:6).
In our first message for today, we find James sending an exhortation to his readers, one that would perhaps seem to be counterintuitive at its core. Look again at his words here from verses 2 and 3:
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
Life isn’t static, is it?
It rarely remains the same, day after day after day.
When change happens, as it so often does, it can happen in positive and negative ways. We tend to rejoice in the former as we should as it brings happiness and satisfaction into our lives. But when it comes to the latter, when things happen that aren’t pleasant to have to deal with, our reaction to them is quite different. In our human nature, we typically dread these times when they come but this isn’t what the scriptures call us to.
For as we see, the Word of the Lord, spoken through James, commands Christian believers to “consider it pure joy” when facing “trials of many kinds”. These trials might involve work or family or health or finances but regardless the nature of the trial, we are to give thanks and be glad because every hardship and difficulty we go through becomes a test of our faith and that testing works to help us develop endurance and perseverance that helps us get through the challenge or challenges we’re facing.
These challenges aren’t always short term. Some may range on for years and people who are in the midst of them learn quickly that they lack the strength and power to make it through on their own. This is what makes the problem and its associated struggle a blessing more than a burden as God’s word calls us to view it. Because it’s when we are in the fires of life’s issues that we are super-heated by our adversity which allows the Lord to skim away the impurities in our faith, just as a metallurgist will remove contaminants from molten gold or silver to make it a better, more valuable metal after the process.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, being a follower of Jesus doesn’t remove the possibility of life’s dilemmas from happening but it does help us see the value in going through them in faith. For when we place our trust in the Lord to help get us through, waiting patiently for His deliverance, we develop wonderful perseverance to stand strong in the midst of the storm until He brings us to the peace found in better times.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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