Living Understanding Pt 20: Count it all joy

James 1:2-8                            2Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

1Peter 4:12-16                       12Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 14If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.

Matthew 5:11-12a                 11“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven,….

Just what exactly is a trial?  We might think of a tragedy such as the loss of a loved one, or a difficult time such as the loss of a job, or financial setback, or an irritation such as an argument with a friend.  Also, a trial should not be thought of as a result from criminal activity, because those results are the proper consequence of improper behavior.  There are all sorts of regular trials and all of them give us an opportunity to respond in a positive or negative way.  Either of these is common, but less common is the ultimate positive response:  The Godly way.  This is the focus of this section of James’ letter.

Count it all joy.

Remember, joy isn’t the same thing as happiness; joy is a deliberate decision while happiness is an emotional response to a stimulus.  So according to James we should be joyful when we are in difficult times, but honestly that is usually the last response I have in those situations.  I’m angry, resentful, sullen, or vengeful; the last thing I am is joyful.  But joy is exactly the thing James calls us to seek.  He is telling us to make a decision for joy and not to succumb to the bitterness that tries to rise. 

Finding joy in difficult circumstances is not easy, and to be sure, it is often the last thing considered.  James is being emphatic here; he’s saying, “Do it!”  Why?  Well, James explains in the following verses.  Look at the progression of thought:  Perseverance first, then maturity, then completeness, then fullness.  Before I came to faith in the Son of God and faced a difficult time, I always, and I really do mean always, assumed the worst outcome would come to pass.  There is still a thread of that thought process in my life even today.  But seldom did the worst come to pass and occasionally the difficult time turned out to be nothing to worry about.  After my salvation seldom, even rarely, did the worst come to pass.  What was the difference?

Testing of your faith

Well, of course, in the second situation I had placed my faith in my Lord Jesus Christ as, I assume, so have you.  Having faith in the Lord Jesus Christ means something.  It means that he didn’t call you into relationship with him for no reason, but that he wants you to show the world what faith means; to show them that difficult times don’t have to be awful.  But God wants us to be stronger in our faith every day.  He wants us to grow.  The word ‘testing’ has special significance in this passage:  In the original Greek testing has to do with the purification process whereby the impurities in molten gold are drawn off as they rise to the surface.  Difficult times provide the same opportunity for purification.  As we learn to pray through our troubles, laying them at Jesus’ feet, as we learn to trust him realizing things aren’t as bad as they first seemed, we begin to become stronger and realize that life with trust in Jesus is the better way.

There is more here though.  It’s not as if we should meekly allow struggles to come our way, visit a while, and then leave.  No that’s not it.  Becoming ‘mature and complete’ implies a process of change.  James wants us to develop a whole-hearted commitment to God; the idea is that we grow.  This is the point:  Not that we meekly respond to trials but that we fight.  To be sure we fight with faith and trust in Jesus; we don’t give in, we don’t give up.  The result is that we become more confident in knowing God won’t abandon or forsake us.

Believe and not doubt

Do not for a second believe ‘doubt’ refers to intellectual questioning.  No, it refers to consistency, to removal of conflict in loyalty.

4You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. (James 4:4)

Is our belief consistent?  Do we abuse alcohol on Friday or Saturday nights and worship God on the Sabbath?  Do we cheat on our spouse and then take Communion?  The restless sea metaphor sets faith in perspective.  If we have no fixed beliefs, no adherence to Godly precepts, if we have no chosen direction in our lives to draw near to God, how can we possibly expect to withstand the world.  After all, as children of God, we do have an unwavering enemy in the person of Satan.  He sends opposition and difficulty precisely so we fall away under their pressure; that we become ineffective for God.  If our loyalty to God is constantly threatened, how will we withstand the storms?

What about me?

So, my believing friend, ‘counting it all joy’ is a way of saying we should not whine and complain as much as we do.  Remember, God is using those times to help us be ready for the much more difficult times which are not yet here.  Draw in close to God.  Let him guide and shape you; let him steer you around the big boulders in your path.  And when you trip over the smaller ones let him admonish you, repent, move on, and grow in faith.