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"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." James 1:2-4 (ESV)

Someone excessively wise once said that the only things we can be sure of in this world are 'death and taxes'. Although you could probably class both of these in this wider bracket I would like to add an extra word to this: 'trials'. Whatever stage of life we are in, whatever location, age, nationality, gender, marital status, employment status or anything we all hold in common the fact that we live in a world that is certainly less than perfect, and at any point we could be confronted with all manner of trials. Here are just a few:

Finances, relationships, fear, death, physical pain, emotional pain, spiritual torture, anxiety, bullying, temptation, technology, political correctness, communications failure, clothes shopping, war, flirting, terrorism, politics, the housing market, . . .

To be honest, one could add pretty much anything they wanted to this list because all of us could take any situation, however good, and turn it into a trial, i.e. a situation in which we are tested in an unpleasant way, be that temptation to sin or other suffering. Let's take an example: a friend of mine was facing a big trial in that she had to pack up and leave all her friends and family and find a new job. For almost a year she was out every day looking for jobs but nothing was happening until one day she got a lovely new job! This, of course, was excellent news until she realised almost as soon as she started there that her new boss seemed to be out to get her and she found herself bullied to the point that she had to leave only a couple of weeks later. Imagine any situation and just think of a way it could turn into a trial - you will be able to do it! We all face trials every day, so this passage is so important for all of our lives. Let's see what James says.

Count it all joy

The first thing James says is that we must be joyful in all our trials. Here it is helpful to call to mind Zechariah 13:9, in which God says he will test His people like gold is tested in the fire, i.e. it is purified and made to be so much more valuable after its tests. We are to rejoice that we are those who, through tests, are made to be even more valuable, and malleable to God's will. When purchasing gold, would one prefer a lump out of the ground or a purified piece that has been skilfully crafted into a beautiful piece of jewellery? By enduring tests we enable God to use us ever more powerfully. It is also important here to note that we do not receive trials as some form of punishment. Rather, they are something that all Christians will face. As Matthew Henry says in his excellent commentary: "[trials] are such as [a good man] is said to fall into. And for this reason they are the better borne by him." It is also important that we understand not to rejoice in the trials themselves, but in what we know to be the consequences of bearing them. It would be dangerous to think, 'I know to rejoice in all trials so I will seek trials' - we should always keep our eyes set on eternal matters. In fact, let's look at the consequences.

Testing produces steadfastness

The consequence of testing according to verse 3 is steadfastness, translated in the NIV as perseverance and in the NLT as endurance, calling to mind the picture of running in a race (1 Corinthians 9:24, Galatians 5:7,2 Timothy 4:7). In response to being tested in all manner of ways we are to defend ourselves in all manner of ways by equipping ourselves with the full armour of God (Ephesians 6:10-18) and then embracing the results. 'The grace of patience,' writes John Barnes, is 'to be regarded as an object worth being secured, even by much suffering.' And it is true that so many of us today are impatient; I know I am! We are constantly looking forward to the next thing that is happening, whether it is waiting for lunch break to begin, waiting to leave school, get a job, get married, have children, have our children leave home, retire or whatever! We live in a terminal 'when...' culture, which restricts our view of God. We want Him to act immediately in all things, rather than trusting His timing, but trusting His timing can sometimes be the last cog that needs to fall into place in our minds to allow us to grow in a relationship with Him, and in our spiritual gifts! Jesus died for us, not so that we could be tested in all manner of ways, but so that by the power of the Holy Spirit living in us, the same power that raised Christ from the dead, we would be enabled to bear all trials and grow ever more in spiritual maturity.

Let steadfastness have its full effect

The effects of this are stated in verse 4, that we would be made 'perfect and complete, lacking in nothing'. This is quite a claim, that through steadfastness, through perseverance we would become perfect and complete - the words are borrowed from the Grecian games; perfect (teleios) was the title a race's victor would receive, and complete (holokleros) was the highest title the winner of the pentathlon could receive - if he had won every race. They can also, however, be applied to the picture of the Jewish sacrificial system, as argued by Adam Clarke: by being perfect an animal would be without disease in any way and would therefore qualify for being a sacrifice, and by being complete it would have 'all its members, having nothing redundant, nothing deficient.' (Adam Clarke). In other words, by enduring trials and receiving steadfastness we can receive teleios, a purging of our sin, and holokleros, a fulfilment of all God's promises in us. This combination of receiving grace to cover our sins, and gifts which enable us to humble ourselves and be used by God, can and will enable us to fulfil the words of Romans 12:1 by submitting our bodies as living sacrifices as an act of worship for the glory of God.

Conclusion

When we face trials every day we face a decision. Do we succumb to them, allow them to affect us and in the worst case lose our faith, or do we embrace them, not for what they are but what God can achieve through them? By allowing God to use them to grow us for His glory we will achieve all that God has in store for us and that is a prize worth running the race for. Let's together respond by begging God for more patience and endurance to stand every trial that comes our way!

"The Way" from Kevin Pauley

The Second Sin