The reason for trials and troubles
James 1:2 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds”
Think for a moment about the millions of people in south Texas in the throes of what was Hurricane Harvey and then read our verse for this week.
I doubt that there are many, if any of those people who would say that they are having a good time. When you see and read about people being rescued from the roof of their house or having to evacuate to avoid flooding from 25’+ of rain, that hardly sounds like a good time.
When we add in the next verse in chapter 1 of James’ letter to the Christians he was working with and serving, you start to put our verse for this week into perspective. James goes on in v. 3 to write “because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance”.
No, we may not enjoy the troubles and trials themselves, but when we look at the bigger picture and see the end purpose which God has for allowing difficult things to come into our lives, we start to see why James describes facing trials as “pure joy”. Look back over your life so far and consider how those difficult moments in your life have shaped you and made you the person you are today.
Reading our verse for this week and the verse after makes me think of the words which God led Paul to write in Romans 5:3-5 “But we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”.
I like these verses because of the perspective Paul gives us on suffering: perseverance – character – hope. Perhaps those thoughts will help you understand the reason and purpose of suffering. Think of the blessings which came to you as you persevered through troubles. Think of how that influenced your character and made you the person you are today. Think of how the perseverance and character give you hope as you deal with situations in your life today.
There is one more thought which Paul adds for our consideration in Romans 5 “because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”. Paul wants to make sure that we understand (and James would second it from our verse for this week) that this whole idea of trials and troubles making us stronger and more equipped for future things in life doesn’t come from our own self, but rather through God’s working in us.
So often when we are in the midst of trials and troubles we look at them from our perspective and often end up having a pity party. The next time you (or someone close to you) are in the midst of a difficult time work to think about what perseverance, character and hope God has in mind for you!