How to Have a Joyous Trial

Thanks, Ron. I have to apologize
for several fronts. First of all, as the one who
plans the services each week, I have done what I didn’t want
to do. I gave myself more time than
usual. And I apologize to Ron because
we all know that at 1030 we have to quit and get out and he’s
usually trying to finish up, so I apologize on that. Also, I apologize for just being
up here right now because normally I’m down and we’ve got Ron coming
up here. So there’s just kind of an abundance
of me this morning and I apologize for that. But it gives me the opportunity
to have my Shepherds Conference sermonizer. For those of you
who don’t know, the Shepherds Conference out of Grace Community
Church in California has a conference each year and several of us went
this past year. Each year you get a gift and
I’ve gone five years and it was just a few months ago I went
home to California to preside over a funeral and I just happened
to, it just hit me as I’m waiting in the Las Vegas airport that
here I was with my Shepherd’s Conference garment bag, my Shepherd’s
Conference holder bag, whatever you want, duffel bag, whatever.
In it were my Shepherds Conference Bible, my Shepherds Conference
sermonizer, and I was wearing, so I wouldn’t be late, my Shepherds
Conference watch. So yes, I was a walking billboard
for the Shepherds Conference through the Las Vegas airport,
which I’m sure they didn’t notice too much at all. This morning, I’m going to begin
a series in James. And I say series because depending
on the frequency, this could be a 10-year series. It could
be shorter than that. It could be longer than that.
And if you heard a collective sigh, it was probably from the
high school and junior high folk that have been in my Sunday school
class the last six to eight months because last week we just finished
James. Okay, so here I step up again
and there he is, James again. Anyway, I’ve picked James to
go through and a lot of what we just sung about is very pertinent
to what we’re going to talk about here this morning. Attendance
in churches rose significantly for several weeks after 9-11.
And then after several weeks, they
returned to normal levels. Why? Because people wanted to have
answers. Their confidence was shaken.
They were suddenly out of control. Their life was out of control.
Terrorists had taken away their safety and security. One opinion
poll asked people if they thought God played a role in such circumstances
as the 9-11 attacks and also in natural disasters. And half
of them that responded agreed with this statement. Although
I believe in God, the supernatural had nothing to do with these
tragedies. How we handle adversity says
a lot about who we are, about our faith. And the book of James
is all about faith. James gives a series of tests
and scenarios in which to show forth what genuine faith will
look like. Robert Johnstone is a commentator
and he wrote this, Affliction lets down a blazing torch for
the man into the depths of his own nature and he sees many things
which he little expected to see. He finds his faith weak where
he thought it was strong. And that is exactly what James
does, at least in my case. Because through all these scenarios,
he wants to show what genuine faith looks like. And so he presents
several different scenarios. And as you study them, as you
look at them, and you see how we’re supposed to react, You
kind of come away with, I don’t do that. And it is very
convicting. It can be very depressing. A little more about James. A
little more background. James has 21 references or allusions
to the Sermon on the Mount. John MacArthur has said that
James could be viewed as a practical commentary on the Sermon on the
Mount. James is a practical manual for
Christian living. James wants us to know what genuine
faith looks like. And real faith will show itself
in difficult circumstances. In chapter 4, James includes
a call to salvation. And at the very end of the book,
he calls those with genuine, real faith to go after those
who have strayed from the truth. By this, we can tell that James
knows that there are within the church those who claim to have
faith, but that faith is not real. There are believers who
believe they are saved when they are not. And the world can notice
differences between genuine Christians and those who just profess faith. and how we react to different
circumstances is our testimony to the world. I happen to work
with a few people who profess faith. However, if you watch their life, I think that’s all they do is
profess the faith because it seems that their goal is anything
but holiness. It’s anything but building their
faith. In fact, in some cases, I’ve seen that it’s about trying
to get others who claim to be Christians, or who are Christians,
to fail, to slip. Matthew Henry said, the design
of James is to reprove Christians for their great degeneracy both
in faith and manners, and to prevent libertine doctrines which
threaten the destruction of all practical godliness. So James
sets out to show what our faith should look like. In preparing
this, I did a lot of background, OK? And I’m only going to give
you just a little bit, OK, because I just want to get into the passage,
leave more time for that, but also just to let you know, James is not without its detractors
or critics, OK? And one of them, Martin Luther,
And he wrote in the introduction to his German New Testament,
and forgive me for this old English, but I’m quoting here, in fine,
St. John’s Gospel and his first epistle,
St. Paul’s epistles, especially to
the Romans, Galatians, and Ephesians, and St. Peter’s first epistles.
These are books which show thee Christ and teach thee everything
that is blessed to know, even though thou never see or hear
any other book or doctrine. Therefore, is St. James Epistle
a right strawy, strawy, don’t use that word often, epistle
in comparison with them, for it has no gospel character to
it. Those are kind of harsh words,
stinging words. And these are sentiments that
have been echoed through time by other Critics of James and
quite possibly Luther, because of his fighting for the great
doctrines, does not hold James up as high because they don’t
contain those doctrines. It’s more a manual of practical
living. It does not have great doctrinal statements and it doesn’t
deal with that. So that is possibly why Luther
did not hold it as high up to the other books that he listed.
One reason James has detractors is that in his second chapter,
verse 17, we all know the verse, faith without works is dead.
Some have taken him to think that he’s combating justification
by faith and saying it’s justification by works. It’s not. James, in
showing what real faith is like, is saying that genuine faith
with genuine faith, things are naturally going to happen, naturally
going to occur in your life. And you’re going to and you’re
going to change in these ways. And when I say naturally, actually,
it’s supernaturally because it’s not us. Spirit working within
us. Just a little bit about James
himself. Many opinions about who he was,
but it’s widely agreed upon that he is a relative of Christ. He
says he’s the half-brother of Jesus Christ. And the controversy comes in,
well, does half-brother mean a cousin? Does half-brother mean
a half-brother? All I can say is that in Mark
6, verse 3, He mentions siblings of Jesus and it says, is this
not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James
and Joseph and Judas and Simon? Are not his sisters with us? So it just seems to say that
these are James and Joseph and Judas and the sisters are Mary’s
and Joseph’s kids. Galatians 1.19 mentions also
James as the Lord’s brother. So just the fact that he is a
relative of Christ, I would happen to lean towards that he is actually
the half-brother. And so why is that important? James was not a believer in who
Jesus was until after the resurrection. John 7, verse 5 says, not even
his brothers, Jesus’ brothers, were believing in him. The change
shows in Acts 1.14. It says, These all were with
one mind and were continually devoting themselves to prayer,
along with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and his
brothers. And the reason for the change
seems to be shown in 1 Corinthians 15.6-7. After that, Jesus appeared to more than 500
brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some
have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then
to all the apostles.” James, being a relative of Christ,
was not a believer until after the resurrection. And in John,
Jesus is a prophet who is without honor in his own country and
in his own household. The fact that they could be walking
and seeing him grow and live and be with him all the time
and not believe in who he is. That to me is surprising. There
is obviously a big change in James’s life because he later
succeeded Peter as the head of the Church of Jerusalem. And
we see James speaking in Acts at the Jerusalem Council. He
was known as James the Just. And in Galatians 2.9, Paul calls
him and names him as one of the pillars of the church. So, obviously,
a great change in James’ life. So with that, let’s look at the
passage for this morning. And it’s James 1, verses 1-4. James, a bondservant of God and
of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes who are dispersed
abroad, greetings. Consider it all joy, my brethren,
when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your
faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect
result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
James, a bondservant of God and of Jesus Christ, James doesn’t
identify himself as the head of the church of Jerusalem. He
doesn’t identify himself as, I am a relative of the Lord Jesus
Christ. For some, this raises questions. Is this really the same James?
For others, it speaks for itself saying that he doesn’t need to.
He is so respected. He is so well known now that
he doesn’t need to give his resume in this letter. In regards to
his relation to Christ, Thomas Manton put it this way, spiritual
kin is to be preferred above carnal. In other words, the spiritual
relationship is what is important. And that is why James introduces
himself as a bondservant of God and of Jesus Christ. One said,
the holiest of men is no more than this. A bondservant. or slave gives the picture of
one who had no personal freedom. One who was totally under the
control of the master. Absolute loyalty and obedience
was a must. The only difference here is that
James is in this position, not under duty, but it’s his desire
to put himself under the complete control of the master. Here is
James, a pillar of the church, and he considers himself only
to be a servant. Of course, the example was set
by Christ Himself. Matthew 20-28, just as the Son
of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His
life as a ransom for many. King David said, I would rather
be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the
tents of wickedness. A doorkeeper was the lowest in
the service of the temple. Rather than brag about his position,
James’ glory and desire was to show himself as a servant of
Christ.” Do we do that? Or do we always
find ourselves building ourselves up? Do we, yeah, well, in college
I did this. Or do we ever introduce ourselves,
I do this, but I am a servant of Jesus Christ. Probably not
too often. But that is what our highest achievement is. Just a servant of the Most High
God. One commentator said that a servant
will, in all things, have an eye on Christ. Will always have
their eyes focused Jesus. So James, a bondservant of God
and of the Lord Jesus Christ, his audience is to the twelve
tribes who are dispersed abroad. James is writing to not only
just Jews, but Jewish Christians who have been scattered due to
persecution. This persecution seemed to hit
its head or overflow with the stoning of Stephen. James uses the word dispersed,
which would be very familiar to Jews, because ever since the
captivity, the dispersion is what Jews used to describe those
who had been dispersed, scattered and living in other countries.
The difference between this dispersion and the captivity is that this
did not involve all Jews. Again, these were Christians.
These are Jewish Christians who had lost their homes. They have
been forced to live in other countries. Probably many working
in fields in order to make any kind of living at all. These
are people who are exploited by the rich, being taken into
court. And this is mentioned in the
second chapter of James. Verse 6, you have dishonored
the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress
you and personally drag you into court? Then again, in chapter
5, verse 4-6, he talks about the oppression that they are
facing from the landowners or their masters, those who have
hired them. And could it be that these Jewish
Christians who have been scattered and displaced and are now being
oppressed because of their faith, could they now feel abandoned
by Christ? Have you ever felt like God was
a billion miles away and He could care less what you were going
through? That the last thing He was thinking about was you
and your situation. This is the audience that James
is writing to. As I have mentioned, this is
a book on faith. Genuine faith. and what it looks
like lived out. I mentioned that James gives
a series of tests in order to show his genuine faith. The first
comes out of the circumstances that we find right here. Greetings! Consider it all joy,
brethren, when you encounter various trials. This seems like
a very strange way to open a letter to these people. This is one
of my favorite greetings. I think my number one greeting,
my favorite greeting is Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Oh,
you foolish Galatians. You know, you open the letter
and, oh, wow, you foolish Galatians. Here, James doesn’t open up with, you
know, I feel your pain. Okay? I’m with you. I know I’m going to go to the
ACLU and I’m going to get to the bottom of this and we’re
going to get it worked out. Like they would take the case anyway.
But there is nothing like that to identify with their situation. Is he insensitive? Does he have
his head stuck in the sand? No. James is their pastor. He’s their leader and he’s doing
what he’s called to do. He’s called to exhort them. He’s
encouraging them in a different way than we might think. Can you imagine their reactions
in getting this letter? They’re in this situation. They
feel probably all alone. And they get this letter from
their pastor in Jerusalem. And if you’ve ever been in a
situation where you feel all alone, when there’s any mention
of anything familiar or someone familiar, hope raises up within
you. Here a letter comes from their
pastor. Oh, he knows we’re here. And then consider it all joy
when you encounter various trials. He’s about to exhort them and
explain to them what genuine faith looks like in the face
of trials and persecutions they now find themselves in. Verses
3 and 4. tells us how we can have a joyous
trial. But I want to give us three steps that will allow us
to have a joyous trial. And therefore, show genuine faith. I’m going to go to the middle,
the end, and then back to the beginning. Consider it all joy,
my brethren, when you encounter various trials. Step one in having
a joyous trial is realizing that trials are promised. What is certain in life is that
we will have trouble. We will have trials. Jesus said
it. In this world, you will have
trouble. Job 14.1 says, man who is born of woman is short-lived
and full of turmoil. What is certain is that we will
face adversity. What is also certain is that
we as Christians will face further adversity because of our faith. John 15-20, Jesus said, if they
persecuted Me, they will persecute you. Paul reminded Timothy in
2 Timothy 3-12, all those who desire to live godly in Christ
Jesus will be persecuted. Now, as Ron has mentioned when
he’s up there, there are lots of times where things come across
our way and we think, oh, we’re being persecuted. Well, when
you look at what’s happening here, we are not being persecuted.
We’re facing difficult things, but is that truly persecution?
If we think it is, I would dare say we’re in trouble for times
to come because as I look at things, for Christians, things
are going to get a lot rougher. And we have to be ready for it.
We have to be prepared for that. Trials are inevitable. We will
face them. And some translations might have
temptations. These trials or temptations are
not limited just to temptation to sin. It’s things that come
our way in everyday life. And some translations will even
say when you fall into kind of noting a surprise, a thing comes
all of a sudden. Thomas Manton says, it gives
the idea of a surprise, catches us off guard. Another said, God
places the believer, sometimes rather suddenly, in a predicament
that is designed to test his faith in God. Things are going
along smoothly and suddenly a trial hits. a lost job, loss of a loved one,
an illness, and all of a sudden your world is turned around. What we need as Christians to
remember is that these are not accidents. Sometimes, however,
we may not know we’re in a test. It can be a little more subtle.
And then all of a sudden we realize that we’ve gotten ourselves into
this situation. The big question is how do we
respond to them? Are we on guard? When the disciples are asking
Jesus, when will these things take place? The Second Coming.
We’re not to be caught by surprise by the Second Coming. We don’t
know the time. But we’re not supposed to be
surprised by it because there are signs. Jesus said there are
signs. Signs of the sun, moon and stars. Nations will rise
against nations. There will be famines, earthquakes.
When these things happen to begin to come to pass, look out. Be ready for your redemption
draweth nigh. We don’t know the exact time,
but we know the signs. that it is coming. With trials
also, Christians, we should know they’re coming. So we should
not be necessarily surprised by them. Which leads me to point
number two. In order to have a joyous trial,
we need to remember that trials are promised. And also, that
these trials have a purpose. Verses 3 and 4. knowing that the testing of your
faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect
results so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Knowing that the testing of your
faith produces endurance, and let endurance have its perfect
results so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
We can be assured that trials do not come about just because. There is a purpose for them.
There is a reason for what we go through. There is a purpose. The purpose is to test our faith
and ultimately to build or increase our faith. When situations have
come up, probably the ones I think of are the loss of a loved one.
When we’re dealing with that, I think often of non-Christians,
those who do not have Christ as their Savior. How do they
get through this? We as Christians can know that
there’s a reason. We as Christians can know that
that believer who has left us is in a better place. He has
reached his fulfillment. He has really become perfect. He is up there with his Lord.
He has reached the goal. Lost jobs. Different things that
come our way. How do those who do not believe
in Jesus Christ get through those? If they don’t know, there’s a
purpose. We at least can know there’s a purpose. He who began
a good work in you will be faithful to complete it. There’s a reason. We may not understand it. We
may not see it at the beginning. But at least we can know that
there’s a purpose. And part of that purpose, the
overall purpose, is to build our faith. We can be assured that trials
come about. The purpose, again, is to increase our faith. The
Christian life is sometimes called what? A walk, right? How’s your
walk going? Yeah, we’re doing this. It’s
growing. We’re doing well. When you go
for a walk, what happens? You go somewhere. You move along. You make progress. That’s what
we are supposed to do as Christians in our faith. We are to progress.
We are to increase our faith. Our faith is supposed to grow.
We’re not supposed to stay in one place. That’s becoming stagnant. Real faith is active. And that
is why James wrote, In 1 Peter 1, 6-7, we’ve been
hearing this lately from our pastor. In this, you greatly
rejoice, even though now, for a little while, if necessary,
you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of
your faith, being more precious than gold, which is perishable
even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise
and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” It’s so that
your faith can be found genuine. There’s an ancient Arabic proverb
which says, sunshine alone creates deserts. If things were always as it should be, when the sun
is shining down on me, things thereof should be, blessed be
the name. Well, if things are always good
and smooth, the tendency is to put trust in ourselves. We tend
to forget about Jesus Christ and all He does for us. Think
of all the things you take for granted now. Just everyday things. Health, food, shelter, home. Are we thanking Him for those
things? Do we see Him providing those? Do we wake up and go,
God provided for me this day. So when things are going so well
all the time, our reliance upon Christ seems
to diminish. Another said, consider it all
joy when dark clouds gather above your head. They will give you
showers of blessing. And these blessings will cause
your faith to grow. Here, the specific purpose mentioned
is endurance. Trials are meant to develop endurance.
This develops a determination to hang on to Jesus Christ, the
Savior, through these times of adversity. Endurance. It’s an inner quality which grows
and increases as we are able to face a trial with patience
and trust. Patience is needed to get us
through that trial, for that trial. Endurance is something
that is ongoing. We have an enemy. who was always
trying to break our trust in God. Look at the situation with
Job. Satan said, you know, you’ve
given him everything. Take that away. He won’t trust
you. His faith will crack. And so
God allowed these certain circumstances to come into Job’s life. In those circumstances, please
remember that Satan was only allowed to do what God allowed
him to do, and no more. Unfortunately, there are those
who think that because we can’t avoid trials, they just resign
themselves to them. They adopt a whatever will be,
will be attitude. They give in to the trial. That
stagnation. When you just say, oh, this is
going to come, I’m just going to go through it anyway. That
is not going to result in increasing your faith. That is going to
result in more trials until your faith is increased. That’s resignation. It’s inactive. It’s stagnant. Endurance is active. It brings
about a victory. And it’s growing in faith. There are also those, unfortunately,
many Christians who do not believe that there is a purpose for the
trials. They see them as something unfair. And in some cases, and
I’ve had people come in and talk to me, not here in California, and they have gone to professionals
to have them put a label on it to justify their inactivity,
their stagnation, their sin. They see it as something unfair.
They do not see it as something God is using to work on us with. Those, they will continue to
fight and miss the blessings of God. One commentator said,
the one who preserves trust in God for health and strength and
comfort during trials, Knowing that God responds to faith, providing
what we need for that circumstance. With this provision, we are not
diverted in doing God’s will. And therefore, continue on the
path of serving God. Again, resignation is stagnation. There is no building of the faith.
One said, now to exercise Christian patience, we must let it work.
It is not a stupid, but an active thing. Stoical apathy and Christian
patience are very different. By the one, men become, in some
measure, insensible of their afflictions. By the other, they
become triumphant in and over them. James says to let endurance
have its perfect result so that you may be perfect and complete,
lacking nothing. When we left our home in California,
we had a peach tree. that was full of peaches, and
it hurt to get in that truck and leave that tree full of peaches
for the next people. But it was exciting because we
got this tree that we didn’t expect anything to happen with
from a gentleman at the church we attended, and we were so excited
the first year that a peach showed up. And what do you want to do
when you see a peach coming? Eat it. I’m providing for my
family. And so you pick it too early.
It’s real close, but I just want to eat it and try it. What’s
the taste? It’s not good. It’s bitter. It’s not ready to be picked. If we don’t let the trial have
its run through, endurance doesn’t have its perfect result. We don’t
learn all that we need to learn. Psalm 1-3 gives the example of
a tree planted by streams of water which yields its fruit
in due season. The context there is of a man
who watches his company and watches the company he keeps and is in
fellowship with God and in His Word through prayer. That man
will develop like a tree planted by streams of water which yields
its fruit in due season when it is ready and perfect and ripe
and sweet and juicy. We have to let the trial run
its course. Such is a trial we must endure
the whole trial. The only way out of a trial,
I’m sorry, is through it. Each trial, each test of faith
is designed to develop in us greater faith so that we will
come into maturity. So we will become ripe. A trial
is there to teach us and develop us That is why we are facing
those circumstances. When we ask God to help us, He
has not promised to bypass the trial. He has promised to take
us through it. There may be instances where
He removes the trial that we go around it. But in most cases,
He’s going to take us through it. And we can then look back
and see His faithfulness. And our trust in Him will increase.
Paul had a thorn. Three times I prayed for this
thorn to be removed. But God didn’t remove it. For
my grace, He proved my grace would be sufficient. Each grace produces another.
And it says so that we can be perfect and complete. Before
we get excited, we are not going to become perfect and sinless.
We have already blown that. Once you’ve blown it once, you
can’t be perfect. The word here for perfect means mature basically. And the word complete, whole. The word might be better translated
mature. And when it says that we can
be perfect and complete, it means that we’re not lacking anything
of spiritual value. We will have what we need to
run the race set before us. In this process, we need to rest
on God’s promise from 1 Corinthians 10-13 that no temptation has
overtaken you, but such as is common to man. And God is faithful
who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able,
but with each temptation will provide the way of escape so
that you will be able to endure it. God will prepare you for
what He’s going to take you through. God knows us better than we know
ourselves. He knows our development. He knows what we can handle. In order to have a joyous trial,
we must remember that trials are promised, that they have
a purpose and going back up, they require a different or unnatural
perspective. Joy is not a natural response
to a trial. It’s okay. I haven’t been joyful
in trials. It’s not a natural response.
But we are called to be joyful. We are called to have joy. Total
joy. Unmixed joy. Complete joy. And
I was reading this, I’m looking for a clause, a way out. Really? Total joy? Unmixed joy? Complete
joy? Oh man, I don’t come close to
that. What is natural is to worry. Seek someone out who will just
say, oh, I know. Someone who will kind of give
you pity. We’re called to have genuine
joy. Again, natural response usually
goes against what God wants us to do. That is why we have the
spirits. to enable us and guide us into
doing the things that God wants us to do. Being able to rejoice
through trials is proof of genuine faith. Joy in the dictionary
is defined as this. A very glad feeling. Happiness.
Great pleasure. A delight. However, this joy
is a little different. Joy is different from being happy. Happy is based on the circumstance.
or if you will, happiness, is based on spiritual realities. All is well between the Christian
and his Lord. It’s not based on feelings, but
on knowledge. It is trust. It is faith. Again, going back to 1 Peter
1. Consider it all joy. The word here for joy is the
same as used in Galatians 5 when it talks about the fruit of the
Spirit. which when describing the fruit of the Spirit, which
makes sense, for to be joyful through trials, it has to be
a gift of the Spirit. It is nothing we can do on our
own. It is something we are given. It can only come from Him. The
one who becomes bitter and angry has lost sight of the fact that
God is in control. He has lost his faith. He doubts
God’s goodness. The attitude shows a weak, not
a false, faith. And one thing here, in working
with college students for almost ten years now, I have seen many
grow up in the church and just have a weak faith. What must
happen is you must make faith your own. It is not your parents’
faith. It is not your friends’ faith.
It is not your pastor’s faith. It has to be your own. If it’s not, if it’s not something
that you have made your own, not something you have committed
to, if you’re relying on it to be, well, my parents are Christians
and I guess it kind of transfers to me. No. With that, your faith
will crumble at the first line of trouble. If I tell you, you
know, Go to this, I think you should go to this restaurant
and have this one dish. It’s really, really, really spicy,
but it’s great, okay? And if I encourage you to do
that and you do that and you go and you try it, you’re not
going to continue doing that because of me. You’re going to
only do it if it’s something you like, if it’s something you
agree with, if it’s something you believe in. Faith is something
that you have to make your own. Again, if it’s not yours, it’s
going to crumble. And I have seen several college
students crumble. And it’s not a good picture.
Make your faith your own. It has to be your faith. And
that’s why we talk about churches making it too easy to become
a Christian. They promise things they can’t
deliver. Trials are there to give us experience
in knowing that God is faithful. He will be there with us. And
in time, we’re able to look back and see, I see how He worked
in that situation. Christians are called to take
up our cross and follow Christ. Does this sound like things will
always go well? We are called to count the costs.
Why should we have to do that if God wants us to be happy? In Hebrews 12.11, it says, all
discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful.
Yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the
peaceful fruit of righteousness. Trials are not easy. Duh. Okay? They’re difficult. But
as Christians, if we can keep in mind that they are promised,
they’re going to come, we can’t escape them. that there is a
purpose, there is a reason for what we’re going through, and
it is our Savior trying to increase our faith, our trust in Him,
bring us closer to Him. And if we can gain that different
or unnatural perspective and face them with joy, we will show
genuine faith. Finally, in addition to these
three steps, you have three more lines there. I’d like to give
you three points In order to help us have that different or
unnatural perspective, trials or adversity need to be looked
upon with eyes of faith, not sense. And our faith teaches
us that, number one, God is completely sovereign. Lamentations 3, 37-38 says, who
is there who speaks and it comes to pass, unless the Lord has
commanded it, it is not from the Most High that both good
and evil go forth. This is not saying that God is
the author of evil. It’s just saying that whatever
He allows will happen. What He doesn’t allow will not
happen. He is in total control over all
circumstances and over all things. Secondly, God is infinite in
wisdom. Remember, God knows us better
than we do. He knows what we need and He
knows how to bring it about. Lastly, God is perfect in love. One expressed it in this way,
God in His love always wills what is best for us In His wisdom,
He always knows what is best for us. And in His sovereignty,
He has the power to bring it about. How do you respond to
trials? If you say right now, you know
what? I do not respond to trials with
joy. You are not the only one out
there saying that. I would be surprised if there
were more than one who said, I’m always joyous in trials.
It’s not natural. But, knowing what James has written
here, that trials have a purpose and that God is working in us
through them. And therefore, bringing you closer
to Him. Father, we thank You for the
trials that come along. Lord, we don’t understand them.
We don’t know how long they’re going to last. We don’t know
necessarily why they’re coming. We don’t know the extent or how
deep they’ll go. There are a lot of unknowns in
trials. But forgive us when we fight
them and when we do not see Your hand in them. Lord, You are good
to us. You are sovereign. You are in
control of all things. Nothing happens outside of Your
control, of Your Word. Lord, You are infinite in wisdom. Lord, You know all about us.
And You have promised that You’re not going to give us anything
that we can’t handle. You prepare us for what we’re going to go
through. And You are perfect in love. Lord, we see that in
how we who have come to claim You as our Lord
and Savior, how often we do things according to Your way, but our
way. And, Lord, You are so patient
with us. You are so merciful with us. You are so gracious
to us. Lord, You have shown Your love in sending Your Son Jesus
Christ to die for us to make us right with You because we could not have done
that ourselves. Lord, while we were still enemies, Christ died
for the ungodly. Lord, we were Your enemy. We
wanted nothing to do with You. And yet, You sent Your Son and
You have now chosen us and brought us into Your Kingdom. And Lord,
we are so thankful for that. So Lord, as You try and refine
us and grow us Give us the ability. Give us eyes of faith to see
Your hand working. And give us the ability to have
that different perspective which does not face a trial with anger
or bitterness, but with joy knowing that our Savior is working in
within us. Thank You for Your Word which
teaches us and instructs us, Lord. Each day, bring us each
day closer to You, closer to becoming that man or woman of
God You want us to be. In Your name we pray, Amen.