A few months ago, I joined a bible study group, called Whispers & Fringes. They have a YouVersion Bible Plan available as well as a one year devotional, called ‘Quest for More’. What I’ve loved about it is that they collectively pick what book of the Bible to read, so I committed to reading that for my devotionals too. In addition to that, it’s been great to hear different perspectives and what God is teaching others.
We recently completed the study of the book of James. Here are my learnings from James.
v1. James is the younger brother of Jesus and in this book, his audience is new believers. He’s a leader in the Church and the Church is scattered because of persecution. Instead of referring to himself as the brother of Jesus (imagine, the clout he could’ve carried) or a leader in the Church, he refers to himself as a ‘servant’. Anywhere you look in the Bible, you’ll find that in heaven’s hierarchy, servanthood is probably the highest position you can hold.
Matthew 23:11-12 “The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
John 12:26 “Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.”
Jesus was the perfect example of a servant. Philippians 2:7 says “rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness”. He even modeled it as he washed the disciples’ feet in John 13:12-16. Serving is a lifestyle for Christians.
v2-7. 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. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But 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. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
Think of facing trials as pure joy. Why? Because the end result makes us complete and mature, more like Jesus. And that’s part of our journey as Christ-followers. Trials get us one step closer to being like Him (conformed to his image, Rom 8:29) and one step closer to us meeting him face-to-face. The work God started in us won’t be fully finished until the day we see him but each trial gets us closer (Phil 1:6).
2 Cor 3:18 “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
Trials are a way in which our faith is tested. In Romans 10:17, the Bible says that faith comes from hearing God’s Word. That faith is then tested through trials we face so we can produce perseverance – a resolve, determination, and tenacity to stand for Christ and what we believe, without being swayed away. It reminds me of us being trees, deeply rooted.
v5. I’ve always used the verse of ‘lacking wisdom’ to be in relation to my studies or things I needed help in accomplishing. However, I couldn’t quite put my finger in why James talks about trials and perseverance in the verse below and quickly shifts to asking God for wisdom in verse 5. Charles Stanley mentions that the wisdom in verse 5 is to gain the perspective of Christ and really understand how he sees things.
When we face trials, it’s hard to be joyful but what if we can see it through God’s eyes? Lord, give us your wisdom so we can persevere through our trials and find joy in it. And help us to ask knowing that you will answer our prayer. Your heart is to be so generous, as long as we believe that you are a loving God that will answer, not doubting your intentions.
There is no suffering that is wasted. Romans 8:28 reminds us that God works everything together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose.
Pure joy comes from God and in this passage, I am persuaded to believe that godly joy means a present and temporal sorrow for a lasting hope in the future. Hebrews 12:2 says that Jesus endured the cross for the joy that was set before him. The joy that would be the result of his pain.
Questions to consider:
- How do we model servanthood? Do we live in true humility?
- Where is our heart when we go through trials? Do we consider it ‘pure joy’?
