James 1:2-4
(Phillips)
When
all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives my brothers, don't
resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends! Realize that they come to test your faith and
to produce in you the quality of endurance. But let the process go on until
that endurance is fully developed, and you will find you have become men of
mature character with the right sort of independence.
The
book of James is not afraid to “get into your face”. Here’s an example. After one verse of introduction, he moves right
into an area of life that happens to all of us.
He writes about trials and temptations that he knows are common to every
single person who lives life on this earth.
He states somewhat matter-of-factly that (1) not if trials and
temptations occur in your life, but when they occur; (2) that you will
face not one but all kinds of trials and temptations; and (3)
these problems will cause inconveniences and frustrations and pressures—they
will “crowd into” your life!
Anyone
who reads these words for the first time is incredulous that you are to face
your problems as friends, not intruders; in fact you are to welcome them. Oh, come on, that’s not right! Well, from a limited perspective, if God were
not around, indeed that would be a laughable statement. However, from an eternal perspective, from
the viewpoint of God, welcoming trials and temptations as friends is a profound
statement, full of wisdom. Why? Because trials and temptations produce at
least three qualities in you that have eternal value—
§
They
test your faith that reveals your true character
§
They
produce in you the quality of endurance (perseverance)
§
They
produce in you mature character that gives God the opportunity to mold you into
His likeness.
The
Greek word for endurance is “hupomone” that the scholar, William Barclay, defined as “having the quality to stand, to face the storm, to struggle against
difficulty and opposition, to make progress against a trial, rather than merely
waiting out the difficulty with passivity”.
Furthermore, Barclay commented that these trials and temptations are not
meant to make you fall and fail, but to make you stronger as a person and to
make you soar. So, as best you
can, rejoice in these trials knowing what their real intent is and what they
will be producing in you.
Is
there anything better in life than becoming what God wants you to become? He uses both joyful and sorrowful events of
life to perfect (mature) you. Yet your
growth into a mature person does depend on how you react to your problems. Of course, you will experience fear and anger
and depression. You will have doubts and
you will plead with God to help you.
But, you need to find ways to replace all these normal and natural human
reactions and emotions with the attitude of faithful expectation that the Lord
is in control and is using these trials and temptations for a higher purpose in
your life.
Have
you not experienced a serious illness where after healing had occurred you
realized what a joy it is to experience the ordinary things of life that you
could not enjoy while ill? God used your
illness to refine you so that you developed a much more mature perspective
about life. You didn’t realize the
benefits of your illness initially, but now you appreciate aspects of life that
you never appreciated before.
“God is in the process of
making us everything we should be as His children. He intends for us to be
mature, functioning in every part of our being exactly as He intends. For this to be accomplished, trials are
necessary. They build in us endurance, a steadfastness under pressure which
will develop us as mature men and women in Christ. What a tragedy that trials often become the
occasion for complaining and discouragement.
We become obsessed with getting out from under the pressure rather than
from learning to stand firm and thus become everything that God intends us to
be (Romans 5:2-5; II Thessalonians 1:4 and I Peter 1:6,7).” -- Gil Rugh, pastor of Indian Hills Church in Lincoln, NE
Amen!
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