James 1:2-4 - Let Trials Make You More Like Jesus.
James 1:2-4 (NLT) Dear brothers and sisters,
when troubles come your way, consider it an
opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your
faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to
grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is
fully developed, you will be perfect and complete,
needing nothing.
COMMENTARY PEARL
We know the end of the story: Jesus is
coming back! When he does, he will make all things
right and just. And if you are his follower, you
will spend eternity with him.
Knowing how the story ends should change
everything. One of the biggest ways it affects your life
is that it should motivate you to use adversity
to become stronger spiritually.
That's what James says you should do
while you're on earth waiting for Jesus second
coming: For you know that when your faith is
tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let
it grow, for when your endurance is fully
developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing
nothing (James 1:3-4 NLT).
You will undoubtedly face stress,
problems, difficulties, and trouble in this life. In
the time between now and when you die or Christ
comes back, you should use those trials to develop
endurance and become more like Christ in character.
Does becoming like Christ sound
impossible? The Bible says God can do that work in us:
May God himself, the God who makes everything
holy and whole, make you holy and whole (1
Thessalonians 5:23 The Message).
Are you whole - like these verses say you
can be - or are you fragmented? Are you put
together, or are you falling apart? These days, we all
feel like were falling apart a little - and
thats okay. Youre not supposed to have it all
together. Youre not perfect, and you wont be
while youre here on earth. You cant change
that.
What you can do is work on getting
spiritually fit in preparation for the coming of Jesus
Christ.
Its important to stay physically fit
and take care of your mental health. But you
cannot neglect your spiritual fitness. You dont
have to be the strongest, fastest, or healthiest
when it comes to being spiritually fit. You just
need to keep working on it and recognize that the
trouble you face is often an opportunity to grow in
faith.
If you're out of work, if youre sick,
if you're feeling the weight of prejudice, turn
to Gods Word and his promises. When it feels
like youre falling apart, remember that God is
still working to make you more like him, and he
can use even the most difficult circumstances in
your life to do it. [Daily Devotional by Rick
Warren: https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]
COMMENTARY
Trials Will Come
For he doth not afflict willingly nor
grieve the children of men. Lamentations 3:33.
Our heavenly Father does not willingly
afflict or grieve the children of men. He has His
purpose in the whirlwind and the storm, in the fire
and in the flood. The Lord permits calamities to
come to His people to save them from greater
dangers. He desires everyone to examine his own heart
closely and carefully, and then draw near to God,
that God may draw near to him. Our life is in the
hands of God. He sees dangers threatening us that
we cannot see
Every soul that is saved must be a
partaker with Christ of His sufferings, that he may
be a partaker with Him of His glory. How few
understand why God subjects them to trial. It is by the
trial of our faith that we gain spiritual
strength. The Lord seeks to educate His people to lean
wholly upon Him. {UL 65}
Spreading Our Wings
When a mother eagle teaches an eaglet to
fly, she will very unceremoniously kick it out of
the nest, which is usually ninety feet or more
above the ground. As the little bird is falling,
she will wait until it almost hits the ground.
Then she will swoop down, pick it up, put it back
into the nest, and kick it out again. She will do
this again and again. After awhile, that little
eaglet starts using its wings. Now, this may seem
like a cruel way to teach something, but that is
how eagles learn to fly.
Sometimes God will kick you out of your
nest. You might be in a comfort zone in which
everything is going the way you want it to. Then the
Lord will say, "It's time for you to grow up.
It's time for you to stretch your faith. It's
time for you to spread your wings."
God will test you because He wants you to
mature. He wants you to develop a walk with Him that
is not based on your fluctuating emotions, but
on your commitment to Him as you learn to walk
by faith.
Notice that James 1:2 does not say,
"Count it all joy if you fall into various trials."
Rather, it says, "Count it all joy when you fall
into various trials" (emphasis added). It's only
a matter of time until the next trial will
come along. It isn't an option. We all will be
tested. The question is, when these tests come will
you pass or fail? [By Greg Laurie from Harvest
Ministries; https://www.harvestdaily.com]
God Uses Problems to Help Us Grow
God uses everything - even the pandemic
were in right now - to help our character grow.
He uses problems to help us mature. James
writes it like this: My brothers and sisters, be
very happy when you are tested in different ways.
You know that such testing of your faith
produces endurance. Endure until your testing is
over. Then you will be mature and complete, and
you wont need anything (James 1:2-4 GW).
You may feel tired and depleted right now
because of how COVID-19 is affecting your life and
the lives of those you love. This is the time to
look to God, to place your hope in him, and to
trust he is still in control.
He is a God of hope, and his hope will
not disappoint. Given time, youll see that
God can use even this pandemic to make you
stronger and to develop your spiritual muscle.
In Romans 8:28, the Bible teaches, We
know that God causes everything to work together
for the good of those who love God and are
called according to his purpose for them (NLT).
Gods purpose for you on this earth is
to prepare you for eternity. This life is
preparation for the next. Were in the warm-up act
right now! Youre likely only here for less than
a hundred years, but youll be in eternity
for trillions upon trillions of years - and even
then youre just getting started!
Todays problems get you ready for an
eternity you cant imagine right now.
Thats what Paul says in 2 Corinthians
4:17: These little troubles are getting us
ready for an eternal glory that will make all of
our troubles seem like nothing (CEV).
Todays problems may seem to be a heavy
burden. But theyll seem like nothing in heaven.
Hang on to that hope when you feel weary,
overwhelmed, or just plain ready to give up. God is
preparing you for eternity with him in heaven! [Daily
Devotional by Rick Warren:
https://pastorrick.com/devotional/ re 2Co. 4:17]
Spiritual Grit
In her book Grit: The Power and Passion
of Perseverance, Angela Duckworth said that her
father, a scientist, frequently noted her lack of
genius when she was growing up. As an adult, she
began to study why some people succeed in life
while others dont.
Her research included parents, students,
educators, athletes, and businesspeople. The secret she
discovered was a special blend of passion and
persistence that she calls grit. For instance, you
might have passion but not persistence. You might
be very intelligent, but you might not have
grit.
I think we could apply this to spiritual
growth as well. Christians who want to win the race
of life need spiritual grit. They need to run
hard. The writer of Hebrews urges us to run
with endurance the race God has set before us
(Hebrews 12:1 NLT).
The word the writer used here for
endurance comes from the Greek word hupomon, which
means patient persistence. Its spiritual grit.
Determination.
And where do we get this spiritual grit
that we need to run the race of life?
We get it from trials and tribulations.
James 1 tells us, Dear brothers and sisters,
when troubles of any kind come your way, consider
it an opportunity for great joy. For you know
that when your faith is tested, your endurance
[hupomon] has a chance to grow (verses 2"3 NLT).
Your spiritual endurance grows through
the testing of your faith.
Maybe youve prayed, Lord, I want to
be stronger spiritually. And then a trial, a
hardship, comes your way, and youre thinking,
Whoa! Whoa! I didnt say that I wanted a trial
or hardship! I said that I wanted to be
stronger.
Meanwhile, God is saying, Exactly.
Trials are sort of like Gods gym,
where your muscle is broken down so you can build
it up. Thats how youll get stronger. [By
Greg Laurie from Harvest Ministries;
https://www.harvestdaily.com]
ILLUSTRATION
In the full light of day, and in hearing of
the music of other voices, the caged bird will
not sing the song that this master seeks to
teach him. He learns a snatch of this, a trill of
that, but never a separate and entire melody. But
the master covers the cage, and places it where
the bird will listen to the one song he is to
sing. In the dark, he tries and tries again to
sing that song until it is learned, and he breaks
forth in perfect melody. Then the bird is brought
forth, and ever after he can sing that song in the
light. Thus God deals with His children. He has a
song to teach us, and when we have learned it
amid the shadows of affliction, we can sing it
ever afterward. MH472.
LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS PASSAGE
James 1:2-4 - Trials as Teachers.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2013/20131121-1340.html
James 1:2-4 - Profiting from Trials.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2012/20121129-1536.html
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
Most Important Decision in Life:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0
Steps to Peace by Billy Graham:
https://stepstopeace.org/
A Man without Equal by Bill Bright:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVa7UoruIo
Seeking God Made Real:
http://vimeo.com/31489782
Prayer Made Real:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE
Importance of Choice:
http://creationhealth.com/CREATION-Health/Choice [click on video]
Medical Seminar on Healthful Living by David
DeRose, MD, MPH:
https://www.smartlifestyletv.com/lifestart
LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies:
http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
Amazing Facts Bible Studies:
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx
Hope Awakens Bible Study Guides:
https://www.hopeawakens.study/lesson-header;id=2
Glow Tract Video Bible Studies:
http://www.bibleresearch.info/
LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS
Islam and Christianity in Prophecy, The
Third and Final Conflict by Tim Roosenberg:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHSJB-fuHLU&list=PLWhQIHGTHlkaGg5Cwe3NDzWtFX8vNSpsE
Unlocking Bible Prophecies by Cami Oetman of
Adventist World Radio: https://www.awr.org/bible
Revelation Now by Pastor Doug Batchelor:
https://www.revelationnow.com/
Hope Awakens by John Bradshaw of IIW:
https://itiswritten.tv/programs/hope-awakens
Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657
