I “rediscovered” the book of James the other day. By that I mean that I hadn’t read it in a while and had forgotten about some of the wonderful nuggets of truth that it contains. It has been called the “Proverbs of the New Testament” for its emphasis on practical Christian living, and that makes sense; if you read and applied the principles from James everyday you would certainly grow in wisdom and mature in your faith.
One of the things that hits home to me as I read this book is the theme of steadfastness. Chapter one, verses 2-4 especially stood out to me:
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
I realized as I read those verses that often in the midst of difficulties my attention is so completely on the thing that am going through that I am blind to what that thing could be accomplishing in me. That’s a pretty normal response, I think. It’s not that you and I are terrible people for not immediately finding joy in the fact that our difficulties can shape our character for the better. I think that James is well aware of human nature and the fact that his words are counter-intuitive. If it was our natural response to “count it all joy” in the midst of trials he wouldn’t have felt the need to exhort believers to do it. Just because something is natural doesn’t mean it is good or ideal (I’m not talking about grief here. Grief is a natural response that is necessary and can be healthy).
My natural response to difficulty is self-pity, jealousy, anger, etc. And while I know that I can’t simply flip a switch and immediately become a person who “counts it all joy,” I can allow the truth of James’ words to be so thoroughly massaged into my heart, that when future trials come, my response might be more in line with what he is talking about. After all, the call to “count it all joy” is not meant to stand on its own; it’s directly tied to the next clause with that little word “for.” Why should you count it all joy when you meet trials of various kinds? For (or because) you know that such testing of your faith produces steadfastness. Now, if you’re a person who cares nothing about the state of your soul or character, this doesn’t mean much to you. But James is writing to believers and the assumption would be that they would want to grow! They would want to be faithful, steadfast servants of the risen Lord. And if what James is saying is true, then this is good news. Trials can actually be tools to help my faith grow? That offers a needed perspective shift and gives hope. I think, to some degree, we are all aware that trials can serve good purposes in our lives. But too often the reminders come when we’re not in a place to hear them, often, unfortunately, from people who mean well but could stand to learn some empathy and tact. Those experiences can make us suspicious of the very truths we need to take hold of to arm ourselves for future difficulties.
Here’s a little personal confession. One of my greatest fears is that I will face a trial that will wreck my faith. I am afraid that when an inevitable future loss or difficulty comes I will become bitter and walk away from God. Perhaps not all at once, but maybe more of a slow drift, like an untethered boat, slowly drifting from the dock. I know that God is faithful and has a greater hold on me than I could ever have on him. But I think the fear that nags at me is a great invitation to go deeper into what I know to be true and to prepare now for the trials that will come. In my next post I will talk more about that journey and what it might look like to “let steadfastness have its full effect.”
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