JOY IN SUFFERING - JAMES 1:3-4

These verses are some of the most startling in the Bible because they tell us to count our trials and sufferings as all joy. That is counter to human nature isn’t it? We do not want to be tried. We do not want to suffer. And we want to feel miserable when we do. 

Trials

James refers to trials of various kinds that tests our faith. It is not limited to the persecution of Christians, though it includes that. It really means the experience of difficult times. 

It might be illness or injury, something we are more prone to as we get older. It might be not having enough money because you are on a fixed income and things get more and more expensive. It may mean the loss of family or friends who have died and left a hurting hole in your heart. 

All of these things are trials that can test our faith in God. It is easy to have faith and trust in God when things are going well. The test comes when things are not going well. 

When we encounter trials of various kinds, we are to count it all joy. The NIV uses “consider”, but the Greek word is an accounting word.  We put the trial in the credit column, not the debit column. We put it in the joy column, not the misery column.

We usually react to trials with frustration, anger, anxiety or fear.  So, this is an audacious statement. Remember Job’s wife told him to curse God and die. (Job 2:9) But James says to count trials as all joy.

This does not mean that trials are fun. If they were fun, they would not be trials. That is why he says for us to count it joy or consider it joy. It is not our natural reaction. So, we must count it as joy. In fact, we must count it as all joy, with nothing else mixed in. 

The Purpose

The reason we count them as all joy is the purpose of trials.  Verse 3 tells us the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. Steadfastness means being resolutely or dutifully firm and unwavering in your faith.

You are steadfast when you do not waver in your faith, when you endure, when you are firm.  Steadfastness and endurance are traits of a mature believer. A mature believer is one who is much like Christ. God works in us for our sanctification, making us more and more like Christ.  

Did Jesus have joy in trials? Yes! Hebrews 12:2 tells us to look to Jesus who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame. Jesus did not have this trial to sanctify himself, but to save us. But the writer of Hebrews used it as an example for us so that we will endure, not grow weary or fainthearted. (Hebrews 12:3) In other words, so that we will be steadfast. 

The Result

Steadfastness is not the end result, however. Steadfastness has an effect on us, making us perfect and complete in Christ. (4) James said to let it have its full effect on us. We grow in faith. We grow in holiness. 

Some of you have faced great trials. You have been seriously ill. You have lost a job. You have been divorced. You have lost friends. You have been persecuted for your faith. All of us will face trials at some point. 

You can get angry or panic. You can moan and groan. Or you can count it as joy, trusting God to do his work on you, and wait patiently for the trial to be over. 

Once you have trusted God through a trial, you have even greater faith. You become steadfast. You become complete. You become holy.

And we are commanded to be holy. God said to be holy as he is holy. 

In addition to Jesus himself, there are other examples in the Bible. 

As I mentioned, Job faced great trials, but honored the Lord. After losing everything, he said “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord”. (Job 1:21)And the writer added: “In all this Job did to sin or charge God with wrong.” (Job 1:22)

When Peter and John were arrested for preaching, they rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name of Jesus. (Acts 5:41) 

Paul went to prison but wrote that he rejoiced because he believed that Christ would be honored in his body, whether Paul lived or died. (Philippians 1:18) 

Fanny Crosby became blind as an infant. Yet, she went on to write 9,000 hymns and memorize most of the Bible. She said:”We all have sorrows and disappointments, but one must never forget that, if commended to God, they will issue in good...His own solution is far better than any we could conceive.”

You see, God cares more about our sanctification, our holiness, than he does our comfort. That is why Philippians 1:6 says “he (God) who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

That is, God will continue to work on us all of our lives to make us more mature in our faith and more holy. Those things make us more like Christ and bring honor to God. 

And that is the end game, the goal: to bring glory to God through our lives lived in faith and holiness. 

So, if we are not suffering in trials, let’s pray that God would mature us and strengthen us so that when we do suffer, we will be prepared to be steadfast in our faith.

And if we are suffering, let us pray that God will use this suffering to make us steadfast, mature in the faith, and holy, all to his glory.

DAVID'S FRIENDS & FOES: 2 SAMUEL 15:32-16:14 & PSALM 3

David & Hushai

15:32-37

Hushai was David’s friend and one of his advisors. As David neared the summit of the Mount of Olives, Hush came to him in torn clothes with dirt on his head, the picture of mourning. He wanted to go with David.

But David sent Hushai back to Jerusalem with instructions to offer his services and support to Absalom as a ruse. Hushai would become another spy for David, relaying information from the palace to the priests, whose sons would then come to David secretly to tell him the news. 

David also wanted Hushai to give advice to Absalom in a manner that would contradict Ahithophel and defeat him. 

David & Ziba

16:1-4

Next, Ziba came to David. He was the former servant of Saul whom David appointed to take care of Mephibosheth. Ziba came with substantial provisions. He brought donkeys loaded with bread, raisins, summer fruits and wine. He tried to cover all the bases: donkeys for people to ride on, bread and fruit for the men to eat, and wine to drink. 

Mephibosheth did not come with Ziba, so David asked where he was (“your master’s son”, Saul being the master) Ziba said he remained in Jerusalem, hoping that he would become king of Israel. That was very unlikely since Absalom was coming to Jerusalem to become king and had his own small army. 

In response, David gave Ziba all that he had formerly given to Mephibosheth. (4) 

David & Shimei

16:5-14

The next man to come to David was not a supporter. His name was “Shimei” and he was a relative of Saul. This occurred when David arrived at Bahurim, a town on the north side of the Mount of Olives belonging to the tribe of Benjamin, which was Saul’s tribe. 

Shimei cursed David and threw stones at David and his people. He called David a man of blood, a worthless man and accused him of having the blood of Saul and his family on his hands, although David had never killed any of Saul’s family.

Notice that verse 6 tells us that David’s mighty men were with him. They are the 30+ fighting men, each capable of killing many men and battle. So David is not without warriors. And Shimei has poor judgment. Also with David is Abishai, nephew of David and brother to Joab. He was also a mighty warrior. 

Abishai offered to relieve Shimei of his head. David refused the offer because God may have told him to curse David. David also placed his life in the Lord’s hand again, saying that he might look on this wrong done to him and repay him with good. 

David and his followers kept going until they reached the Jordan River. There they camped and were refreshed. 

Psalm 3 is ascribed to David, written when he fled from Absalom. It is an individual lament. But it also expresses confidence in God’s deliverance. 

The psalm begins with David’s lament that many foes have risen against him. Men from all over Israel had joined his son, including his trusted advisor, Ahithophel. Since David was God’s anointed king, these people were also enemies of God’s kingdom and his power. 

They said God would not save him. (3:1-3) But David still trusted God to protect him. He cried out to the Lord and was heard. And so, he was able to rest and let go of his fear. (3:4-6) Notice that he addressed God by his covenant name, Yahweh (LORD, in all caps, stands for this name). 

Although God imposed punishments on David for is sin, he did not break 

or terminate his covenant with him. David was certain that God would fulfill his promises to David. 

David prayed again for God to save him from his enemies. He acknowledged that God alone could save him. And he still prayed for God to bless his people Israel. (3:7-8) Since David was God’s anointed, saving and restoring David as king would pave the way for Israel to be blessed. 

Takeaways

Enemies will arise against God’s people and their leaders. They may succeed for a while.

But, God will prevail. 

So, we, like David in Psalm 3, should focus on God, not on our enemies. Focus on enemies will bring fear and anxiety. Focus on God will bring peace and joy.  

ABSALOM THE CONSPIRATOR: 2 SAMUEL 15

 This chapter begins a long section devoted to Absalom’s rebellion against David. It runs through chapter 19. You could call this section "The Rise And Fall Of Absalom".

Absalom Works Against David

15:1-6

Despite appearing to reconcile with David, Absalom began to undermine David. He went to the gate of the city and intercepted people coming to David to adjudicate disputes. He told them they had good claims, but the king would not hear them or appoint someone to do so. But, Absalom said he would administer justice in David’s place.

Absalom also curried favor with those who came to him, treating them as friends by hugging and kissing them. And by doing this, he turned the affections of many Israelites to himself and away from David. (8) He would say “oh that I were judge in the land!”. And people would agree with him. He and they thought things would be better if Absalom were king. 

Absalom also worked to appear like a king. He obtained a chariot and horses. He also hired 50 men to run before his chariot when he traveled around. 

Of course, David should have stopped this. No one but he should have pranced around in a chariot with footmen like an Egyptian pharaoh. This show, plus Absalom’s good looks, certainly caught the attention of people. David, however, seemed incapable of correcting or restraining his children. 

Absalom’s Conspiracy

15:7-12

After undermining David for 4 years, Absalom made his move. He obtained David’s permission to go to Hebron by lying about his intentions. He said he was going to fulfill a vow to the Lord. He wanted to worship (offer a sacrifice) because he was allowed to return to Jerusalem. David allowed Absalom to go. 

However, Absalom was actually plotting a coup. Hebron was symbolically significant. It was a sort of capitol of Judah. It had been awarded to Caleb and his family by Joshua. Abraham had lived near there and bought a cave from the Hittites as a burial site. Sarah, Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Leah were buried there. David reigned over Judah for 7 years in Hebron. 

Absalom sent messengers through out the kingdom telling his supporters to declare him king when the signal was given. He also invited 200 men from Jerusalem to come and attend his sacrifices. These men did not know this was the beginning of a coup, but gave the appearance of Jerusalem turning against David. 

Lastly, Absalom brought in David’s own counselor, Ahithophel. This was to make it appear that David’s trusted counselor, who was greatly respected, had abandoned David and supported Absalom. 

More and more people rallied to Absalom and his conspiracy grew strong. 

David Flees

15:13-23

When David received news that the people were following Absalom, he decided to flee. Normally, a ruler tries to quash a rebellion and only flees if he realizes he cannot prevail. There is no indication here that the army has rebelled against David. Joab and Abishai are powerful and dangerous men still loyal to David, as were many others.

However, David did not fight Absalom. Part of his decision was that he did not want Absalom to attack Jerusalem. But he also seemed to be unwilling to confront Absalom and to rein him in.

David’s servants expressed their loyalty to David. David began to leave, taking all of his household with him except for 10 concubines who were left to take care of the king’s house.

But, as David paused at the edge of Jerusalem, many came who were loyal to him. His personal bodyguards, the Cherethites and Pelethites, came. They were all elite fighting men devoted to David.(18) 

There were also 600 men from Gath, in Philistia, Gittites that had come to support David. They were led by a man named Ittai. David offered him the opportunity to return home. But, Ittai swore allegiance to David and wanted to follow him. 

Notice that David referred to Absalom as the king! (19)

Others who did not leave with David were still loyal to him. Many people wept as David left Jerusalem and crossed the Brook Kidron, going east. (23)

The Priests Support David

15: 24-29

Abiathar and Zadok came to accompany David. Zadok brought all of the Levites. He also brought the Ark of the Covenant. This is an endorsement by the priests that David is the man God chose to be the king. But David sent them back with the ark into the city. 

David surrendered himself to the sovereignty of God. He said, if he found favor with God, God will bring him back into Jerusalem. He will see the ark and its tent. If not, David is will for God to do to him what God pleases to do. Although David does not seem capable to do anything to stop his son, he does still trust in God to act and accepts God’s will for him. He reminds us of Job, who said “Though he slay me, I will hope in him”. (Job 13:15) 

David did have one idea about dealing with this insurgency: he told the priests to use their sons as messengers to let David know what was going on in Jerusalem. 

David Walks In Mourning

15:20-31

After David met with the priests, he continued from the Brook Kidron up the Mount of Olives. He dressed as a mourner, not riding on the donkey with crown and robe, but barefoot with his head covered. The people with him did the same. David wept and his people wept with him.

This is the same path Jesus took on the night of his arrest. (John 18:1) 

When David received news that his trusted advisor, Ahithophel, was with Absalom and his co-conspirators, he turned to the Lord. He asked the Lord to turn Ahithophel’s words of counsel into foolishness. (31) 

Takeaways

David never reacted with anger during this episode. He never expressed anger toward God or even toward his rebellious son.

David may have assumed this was part of the consequences of his sin, the evil God said he would raise against David out of his own house. (2 Samuel 12:11)

David submitted himself to God in this worst of times. He would experience whatever the Lord had for him, whether for life or death. And when his trusted advisor betrayed him, David did not pray for vengeance, only that the advice given would be foolishness. 

Submission to God in good times is easy. It is in bad times that faith is tested.