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.
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