When I hear James say in James
1:2, “Consider it all joy when we face trials of many kinds,” I respond by
saying, “Seriously?” When I am going through my stuff and if someone
were to say to me what James said, I would seriously feel like punching them in
their face and see if they would be able to go away smiling.
After James says, “Count it all
joy,” he goes on to say, “because you know that the testing of your faith
develops perseverance” [and] “perseverance must finish its work so that you may
be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
To which I say, “Easier said than
done. It sounds good in theory, but not
so much in practice. I don’t know how to
get there from here. I am not smart
enough.”
Fortunately, James does not end there. James goes on to say, “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.”
Finally James says something that
I can relate to. It reminds me of what
the Apostle Paul says in Corinthians 1:3-5, “Praise be to the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who
comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble
with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow
over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.”
Like James, the Apostle Paul is
saying that comfort, like spiritual maturity, wisdom and joy does not really
come from our efforts, but its true source is from God.
James then reminds us, “Every
good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the
heavenly lights who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17).
Paul amens this by declaring,
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us
in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” (Ephesians
1:3)
Count it all joy? You betcha!
