James 1: 1-6 1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings.
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.
We all will have trials; it's not an if but a when in verse 2. I am to take the trials as an opportunity to be joyful in my heart and soul because the results will help me grow spiritually. Normally, when difficult circumstances come my way, I want to avoid them and would rather be comfortable. I know the trials I've experienced in my life have been minor relative to many people in the world; my life is not threatened because I know Jesus and read the Bible. I'm not riduculed by my family for being a Christian. Yet, I do experience various challenges daily and the Lord can cause me to feel joy, to choose joy despite the people, things and circumstances that are causing distress in my life. Do I accept my trials with joy?
Long story short: In December 1996, I was sitting in the hospital parking lot crying in my car asking God "where is the joy of knowing You". My beloved mom had died in 1996 after a long battle with Parkinson's, my sister (and best friend) had been diagnosed in August 1996 with Stage 4 cancer, and I had just left the hospital room of another dear friend who had only days to live. I was struggling in my marriage, I was only 9 months away from being an empty nester (which has its high and low points), my job was stressful, and I felt no joy in knowing Jesus. I was desperate to find the joy that the Bible talked about. I drove to the local Christian bookstore to find a book that would show me where to find the joy. I purchased 5 books, read through them, and didn't find the joy. It's been 15 years since then. Finding joy has been a long slow process, but I can truly say today that I have found the joy in knowing Jesus. It was a long journey of learning to come to God each day and ask Him for his wisdom for that day and for him to help me that day have joy despite my circumstances. It was learning to be thankful in all things. God brought me some good Christian friends who could walk the road with me. Verse 5-6 tells me where to go for help in having joy in my trials. I'm to ask God for wisdom. Why not ask for deliverance from the trial? Because God wants me to grow spiritually and have faith in Him. Wisdom is not knowledge, but it is the right use of knowledge. I am to ask God for wisdom. How am I to ask? In faith without doubting.
What an amazing God! It says He gives generously to all without reproach. God simply gives his wisdom and doesn't hold my past failures against me. I'm so thankful that God doesn't give up on us. His love is sure and steadfast. His wisdom is perfect. He understands and knows me better than I know and understand myself. Don't you wonder why we don't go to God sooner when we run into trials!
I'm glad to have the group of online women to go through this study with me. It keeps me accountable and I like reading what they've learned.
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