Sometimes we look at the goodness of God in someone else’s life and wish we could experience the same. How often have you heard someone say “The Lord has been so good to us” as they’ve shared something good that just happened to them? I’ve heard it often...as a matter a fact I’ve said it often myself. We seem to associate God’s blessing with only the good things that happen to us. However, when we do this we are totally missing the point that there’s a special purpose to trials - the difficulties, hardships, and testings that suddenly invade our lives. We see trials as robbers, bent on stealing our joy and our sense of God’s blessing and goodness, because we are so earthbound and we can only focus on the temporal. However, to a child of God, trials are cause for rejoicing. (Adapted from Kay Arther: His imprint. Great book! She's my fav!)
So “hooray for trouble”. That sounds ridiculous doesn’t it? Yet that is in essence what James is saying in James 1:2-5
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 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. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him”.
So “hooray for trouble”. That sounds ridiculous doesn’t it? Yet that is in essence what James is saying in James 1:2-5
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 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. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him”.
We don’t have to rejoice for the trial in and of itself, but for the good that God will do through it, in our lives. Trials for the Christian have a wonderful purpose; trials are very much a part of God’s blessing, for those who are part of His family. Through the trials in our lives, we, as His children, really can say “hooray for trouble!”
First: Respond Positively
None of us doubts for a moment that someday we will face difficult times. The issue is not ‘if’ we face suffering, but ‘when’ we face it. James says in v2 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds." Let’s face it, no one, not even Jesus (especially Jesus), ever lived a perfectly blissful life. No one disputes the fact that we’re all going to endure hard times at one time or another. It’s inevitable. James instructs us to respond positively every time we face trials. Not just with the big ones - in the life and death situations, or not just with small ones - the ones that happen on a daily basis that can drive you in sane, but in the face of every single trial; 'whenever' we face them.
So how on earth are we suppose to respond positively, especially when we are in the depth of despair? Responding appropriately is a very hard thing to do. It’s not our natural response. Sometimes for instance we respond to trouble with rage. This might make us feel better temporarily but in the long run it will not satisfy. In fact when we are in a state of rage, we do a lot more harm than good. Other times we respond with resignation. We give up. We just quit trying. Some of us tend to cry a lot. But just giving in isn’t going to make us feel any better either. In fact in time it can cause you to build up such resentment inside that it can turn into rage!
If we’re really honest, our reaction is usually the exact opposite of joy. We need to realize that trials can also come in any form and can effect every area of our being; emotional, physical, mental, spiritual, etc. When your mind, body and soul are in the depth of despair, how is it that James honestly expects us, Christian or not, to “Consider it all joy”.
James tells us to deliberately choose to rejoice in our troubles; to truly believe that it is a good thing that the trial is happening. James is not saying that you will always feel joy, ha ha far from it, but he is telling you to make a conscious decision to choose to trust God in every situation.
Secondly: Respond Productively
A. James tells us to let trouble help you to develop patience. And the fruit of trial is patience.
A young Christian man asked an elderly believer to pray that he would have more patience. The older man dropped down on his knees and began to pray, “Lord, send this young man tribulation in the morning; send this young man tribulation in the afternoon; Lord send this young man,” At that point the young Christian blurted out, “No, no I didn’t ask you to pray for tribulation, I wanted you to pray for patience.” "Ah", responded the wise Christian, "don’t you know, it’s through tribulation that we learn patience.”
B. But let trouble help you develop more than a passive patience let it develop perseverance or endurance.
Romans 5:3 confirms this “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;”
It is actually in the struggling against difficulty and opposition that spiritual stamina is developed. That’s why perseverance is a more accurate word for the type of patience that James is talking about. It’s not just a waiting around type of word. It is trusting that Jesus will guide and direct us through each storm.
1 Cor 10:13 says that God will never put you through more than you can handle. This promise is your assurance that he will never permit anything to come your way that you cannot handle. Whatever the trial, whatever the testing, whatever the temptation, you can know that if it were not possible for you to endure it in a way pleasing to your heavenly Father, then, He would simply not permit it. He will never put you through more than you can stand, but will make a way for you to escape.
Out of His love for us God allows troubles, so we can become stronger in our lives and closer in our walk with him. It is for our good and His glory that these trials are allowed to happen. In fact we should be concerned if we haven’t had any hard times for a long time, because God tests the righteous not the wicked. 1 Chronicles 29:17 says: " I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity."
So you see it really is a privilege to have a rough time. Then we know that God hasn’t given up working on us. Perseverance has a work to do, and this can be accomplished only by persistence in trials. If perseverance is to ‘finish its work’ faith can’t falter or give up. The goal here is that believers will be strengthened, and will mature in their faith and in their walk with God.
The activities of an oyster beautifully illustrate the reactions Christians are to have to trouble. Do you know how a pearl is formed? The oyster begins to work when a tiny piece of sand enters its shell. With great care, patience, and time, it builds layer after layer of a milky substance around the sand, covering each sharp corner. Eventually a beautiful pearl is formed around what was a problem to the oyster. Remember the goal of trials for Christians is that they will become beautiful and Christlike, strengthened and mature in their faith.
C. Let trouble help you develop maturity
I want you to think for a moment about the hardest trials that you have had to face in your life. How have you responded? Well basically there are two ways: It’s all in the way you handle it.
Robert Schuller wrote “I will be a better person when this problem is past. I will be a wiser, stronger, more patient person; or.... I will be sour, cynical, bitter, disillusioned, and angry. It all depends on what I do with this problem. Each problem can make me a better person or a worse person. It can bring me closer to God, or it can drive me further away. It can build my faith or it can shatter my faith. It all depends on my attitude.” God does give you a choice here, and how you respond in the face of your sufferings will speak volumes about your walk with God.
Maybe you are just weary of the battle exhausted from trying to do what is right. Or maybe you feel that no matter how obedient you are, it won’t change things anyway. Maybe you just want to have your own way, like a child throwing a temper tantrum. Or perhaps things have gotten so bad that you simply want to check out? By that I mean giving up in despair and letting your emotions and thoughts run amuck any which way they want to, thinking and believing things that just aren’t true; letting your imagination run wild, rather than allowing the Spirit of God to help you keep them under His control. Well you’re not alone in your feelings, but this is when, as a Christian, you still choose to consider it joy anyway. Even when you’ve hit rock bottom and you feel you can’t go on. Even when you are in the depth of despair. Trust in God to bring you through and refuse to allow those feelings to take you over.
As I look back over my life I know that it was definitely through the hardest times that God has done the greatest amounts of work. It was those times, those darkest circumstances, (you know the times when you feel that you can’t even get up never mind go on; that even to think about now makes your stomach do flips and ya brake out in a sweat) that caused me to seek Him out with all my heart and to draw the closest to Him. God’s promise to us is that He will be faithful to bring us through. We just need to hang on and trust Him, knowing that he’s never failed and He’s not going to start now. It is through the trials of life that we come to be more like Jesus. Trials are really a testing of your faith...a test that proves the genuineness of your relationship with your God and His Word. Trials are designed for the sole purpose of making us like Jesus, and no child of God is exempt from them. Even those who seem so blessed of God, those whom you might have a tendency to envy, are also going to endure trials...if they are genuinely His.
However, their trials will not necessarily be the same as yours. In fact, they may be going through trials right now, but you just don’t see it or recognize it. Do you know why? Because God made you ‘one of a kind’. Because, you are not the same as any other person. You are uniquely you. So God has a unique, individual set of circumstances which He will use to refine and purify you so that you will come through the fire of affliction with your ungodliness totally consumed.
If you want to see what’s in a sponge just squeeze it. The contents will reveals itself under pressure. The same thing will happen to you when the pressure gets tough, you will see what’s inside your heart and your soul. You will see what you’re made of. It will all come out. Maturity in Christ will only come as we learn to trust in God, lean on Him and persevere in hard times.
Thirdly. Respond Prayerfully
Maturity in Christ is a process and it’s not something that just happens over night. It’s something that will come after much perseverence. James here, talks about when we are in middle of trying times. What does he tell us to do? He tells us to pray.
Now sometimes we might pray for deliverance; we may have a terminal illness or live in an abusive situation, etc., and that is ok, because, a little further down in James chapter 4 he says, "You have not because you ask not”. God wants you to bring your problems to Him and to ask for His guidance and help. He wants you to lay your burdens at His feet and trust him to take care of them. He wants you to come to Him and draw close to Him. Other times we might pray for a change of circumstances; a new job or better living conditions, a promotion...and there is nothing wrong with that either. Sometimes however, what we really need is wisdom
James tells us to pray and more specifically to pray for wisdom. He also tells us that we will get it, if we ask for it. Now the wisdom spoken about here is not a speculative or theoretical type of wisdom nor is it a philosophical wisdom. Rather it is the type of wisdom that plays such a large part in the Book of Proverbs (1:2-4; 2:10-15; 4:5-9). It is the God-given understanding that enables a person to avoid the paths of wickedness and to live a life of righteousness. Wisdom is understanding the nature and purpose of the trials and knowing how to meet them victoriously; knowing how we can grow through them. Wisdom like this, is available to the one who will ‘ask God’ for it. The promise is that ‘it will be given to you’. Not only that, but it will be given ‘generously’ ‘without finding fault.’ God will never scold his children for asking. Neither will He ever berate them for their deficiency. If we trust Him, He has promised to work it all together for our good and His glory. We may not see or understand why things happen the way they do but we have to trust Him that He is bigger than our problems and is in control.
When trials come your way - and inevitably they will - don’t run away; and don’t be envious of others who seem more blessed of God because they are not enduring what you are experiencing. And don’t make the mistake in the middle of your trial of not recognizing the goodness of God in allowing the trial to happen. “Consider it all joy my brothers.” To consider it all joy is to look past the temporal, down the long road to the eternal; to look beyond the trial to the end result. Do you know what the end result is? It’s you, perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Remember only two things will matter when you see your Lord on that great Day: how Christlike you have become, and the quality of your work for Him. Trials are really blessings in disguise to get you to that point. If we believe this and live accordingly, we will be able to say with Peter in 1 Peter 1:6-7 “In this we greatly rejoice, though now for a little while we may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that our faith-- of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-- may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
Do any of you have wind chimes outside your house. Well the next time you face a storm, listen carefully.
Along with the howling of the wind you might hear the beautiful sound from the chimes. They are making music in the midst of a storm. That is really the parable of the Christian life. In the face of the greatest storms of our lives, we can make beautiful music.
You know if it takes a broken heart to draw us closer to God, then our prayer should be, “Lord, break my heart” Because, anything that draws us closer to God has infinite value. So you see, as Christians, we really can say ‘Hooray for trouble”
That's all I'll say about that for now!
First: Respond Positively
None of us doubts for a moment that someday we will face difficult times. The issue is not ‘if’ we face suffering, but ‘when’ we face it. James says in v2 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds." Let’s face it, no one, not even Jesus (especially Jesus), ever lived a perfectly blissful life. No one disputes the fact that we’re all going to endure hard times at one time or another. It’s inevitable. James instructs us to respond positively every time we face trials. Not just with the big ones - in the life and death situations, or not just with small ones - the ones that happen on a daily basis that can drive you in sane, but in the face of every single trial; 'whenever' we face them.
If we’re really honest, our reaction is usually the exact opposite of joy. We need to realize that trials can also come in any form and can effect every area of our being; emotional, physical, mental, spiritual, etc. When your mind, body and soul are in the depth of despair, how is it that James honestly expects us, Christian or not, to “Consider it all joy”.
James tells us to deliberately choose to rejoice in our troubles; to truly believe that it is a good thing that the trial is happening. James is not saying that you will always feel joy, ha ha far from it, but he is telling you to make a conscious decision to choose to trust God in every situation.
Secondly: Respond Productively
A. James tells us to let trouble help you to develop patience. And the fruit of trial is patience.
A young Christian man asked an elderly believer to pray that he would have more patience. The older man dropped down on his knees and began to pray, “Lord, send this young man tribulation in the morning; send this young man tribulation in the afternoon; Lord send this young man,” At that point the young Christian blurted out, “No, no I didn’t ask you to pray for tribulation, I wanted you to pray for patience.” "Ah", responded the wise Christian, "don’t you know, it’s through tribulation that we learn patience.”
B. But let trouble help you develop more than a passive patience let it develop perseverance or endurance.
Romans 5:3 confirms this “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;”
It is actually in the struggling against difficulty and opposition that spiritual stamina is developed. That’s why perseverance is a more accurate word for the type of patience that James is talking about. It’s not just a waiting around type of word. It is trusting that Jesus will guide and direct us through each storm.
1 Cor 10:13 says that God will never put you through more than you can handle. This promise is your assurance that he will never permit anything to come your way that you cannot handle. Whatever the trial, whatever the testing, whatever the temptation, you can know that if it were not possible for you to endure it in a way pleasing to your heavenly Father, then, He would simply not permit it. He will never put you through more than you can stand, but will make a way for you to escape.
Out of His love for us God allows troubles, so we can become stronger in our lives and closer in our walk with him. It is for our good and His glory that these trials are allowed to happen. In fact we should be concerned if we haven’t had any hard times for a long time, because God tests the righteous not the wicked. 1 Chronicles 29:17 says: " I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity."
So you see it really is a privilege to have a rough time. Then we know that God hasn’t given up working on us. Perseverance has a work to do, and this can be accomplished only by persistence in trials. If perseverance is to ‘finish its work’ faith can’t falter or give up. The goal here is that believers will be strengthened, and will mature in their faith and in their walk with God.
C. Let trouble help you develop maturity
I want you to think for a moment about the hardest trials that you have had to face in your life. How have you responded? Well basically there are two ways: It’s all in the way you handle it.
Robert Schuller wrote “I will be a better person when this problem is past. I will be a wiser, stronger, more patient person; or.... I will be sour, cynical, bitter, disillusioned, and angry. It all depends on what I do with this problem. Each problem can make me a better person or a worse person. It can bring me closer to God, or it can drive me further away. It can build my faith or it can shatter my faith. It all depends on my attitude.” God does give you a choice here, and how you respond in the face of your sufferings will speak volumes about your walk with God.
Maybe you are just weary of the battle exhausted from trying to do what is right. Or maybe you feel that no matter how obedient you are, it won’t change things anyway. Maybe you just want to have your own way, like a child throwing a temper tantrum. Or perhaps things have gotten so bad that you simply want to check out? By that I mean giving up in despair and letting your emotions and thoughts run amuck any which way they want to, thinking and believing things that just aren’t true; letting your imagination run wild, rather than allowing the Spirit of God to help you keep them under His control. Well you’re not alone in your feelings, but this is when, as a Christian, you still choose to consider it joy anyway. Even when you’ve hit rock bottom and you feel you can’t go on. Even when you are in the depth of despair. Trust in God to bring you through and refuse to allow those feelings to take you over.
As I look back over my life I know that it was definitely through the hardest times that God has done the greatest amounts of work. It was those times, those darkest circumstances, (you know the times when you feel that you can’t even get up never mind go on; that even to think about now makes your stomach do flips and ya brake out in a sweat) that caused me to seek Him out with all my heart and to draw the closest to Him. God’s promise to us is that He will be faithful to bring us through. We just need to hang on and trust Him, knowing that he’s never failed and He’s not going to start now. It is through the trials of life that we come to be more like Jesus. Trials are really a testing of your faith...a test that proves the genuineness of your relationship with your God and His Word. Trials are designed for the sole purpose of making us like Jesus, and no child of God is exempt from them. Even those who seem so blessed of God, those whom you might have a tendency to envy, are also going to endure trials...if they are genuinely His.
However, their trials will not necessarily be the same as yours. In fact, they may be going through trials right now, but you just don’t see it or recognize it. Do you know why? Because God made you ‘one of a kind’. Because, you are not the same as any other person. You are uniquely you. So God has a unique, individual set of circumstances which He will use to refine and purify you so that you will come through the fire of affliction with your ungodliness totally consumed.
Thirdly. Respond Prayerfully
Maturity in Christ is a process and it’s not something that just happens over night. It’s something that will come after much perseverence. James here, talks about when we are in middle of trying times. What does he tell us to do? He tells us to pray.
Now sometimes we might pray for deliverance; we may have a terminal illness or live in an abusive situation, etc., and that is ok, because, a little further down in James chapter 4 he says, "You have not because you ask not”. God wants you to bring your problems to Him and to ask for His guidance and help. He wants you to lay your burdens at His feet and trust him to take care of them. He wants you to come to Him and draw close to Him. Other times we might pray for a change of circumstances; a new job or better living conditions, a promotion...and there is nothing wrong with that either. Sometimes however, what we really need is wisdom
When trials come your way - and inevitably they will - don’t run away; and don’t be envious of others who seem more blessed of God because they are not enduring what you are experiencing. And don’t make the mistake in the middle of your trial of not recognizing the goodness of God in allowing the trial to happen. “Consider it all joy my brothers.” To consider it all joy is to look past the temporal, down the long road to the eternal; to look beyond the trial to the end result. Do you know what the end result is? It’s you, perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Remember only two things will matter when you see your Lord on that great Day: how Christlike you have become, and the quality of your work for Him. Trials are really blessings in disguise to get you to that point. If we believe this and live accordingly, we will be able to say with Peter in 1 Peter 1:6-7 “In this we greatly rejoice, though now for a little while we may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that our faith-- of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-- may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
Along with the howling of the wind you might hear the beautiful sound from the chimes. They are making music in the midst of a storm. That is really the parable of the Christian life. In the face of the greatest storms of our lives, we can make beautiful music.
You know if it takes a broken heart to draw us closer to God, then our prayer should be, “Lord, break my heart” Because, anything that draws us closer to God has infinite value. So you see, as Christians, we really can say ‘Hooray for trouble”
That's all I'll say about that for now!
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