We are blessed when we remain steadfast under trial

James 1: 7-15 7For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
9Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, 10and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. 11For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. 13Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

I loved verse 12 this week.  The word blessed is the same blessed as in Matthew 5's beatitudes.  Blessed means happy, but happy from the inside out, not based on external things.  It's based on internal joy that comes from God.  I love God and I know He loves me; so when trials arise in my life, I can totally rely on God to see me through the trial.  His love is my security, his promises are sure and God will use the trial to strengthen me and cause me to grow.  We spend most of our lives trying to avoid trials, but we can learn so much from God when we go through trials.  Satan wants to see me doublemind, unsure, and doubting.  But even if I don't feel it with my emotions, I can, with my will, remain steadfast in a trial because I know God is with me and will never forsake me.

I have a generous God!

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. 

James Bible Study

I've joined a group of women online who are walking through the book of James together.  We are reading the same verses each day.  Our purpose is to be accountable to each other and to help each other maintain the discipline of reading God’s word daily.   Each morning, (Monday-Friday) the first person who has her quiet time starts the group off. She will share in her post something she learned during her quiet time study of James that morning. Then each member of the group will reply to the whole group after they have their quiet time. 

We start next Monday.  So to prepare myself, I read through James and jotted down some initial "big picture" notes. 

James wrote the book to the "12 tribes of the dispersion".  My Bible's notes say there are a couple choices of which James wrote it.  There was James, son of Zebedee (one of the 12 disciples of Jesus) or there was James, the half-brother of Jesus who became a leader of the church after Jesus's resurrection.  In all likelihood, it was the latter.  Galatians 2:9 says James was a pillar of the church.  We see him in Acts 15 settling a major dispute within the church.  Our best description of the author of James comes from James 1:1 where he calls himself a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

The "12 tribes of the dispersion" tells me that the readers of the letter were probably Christian Jews who had been scattered around outside of Jerusalem and Isreal.  It must have been hard for them.  Being Jews, they were probably not accepted by their Gentile neighbors.  Being Christian, they were probably rejected by their Jewish neighbors. 

So why did James write the letter?  I went to a commentary for a little help.  Jame's readers were going through trials, facing temptations to sin, having problems with their tongues which caused division, failing to "walk the talk"; having problems with worldiness; were disobeying God's Word and were sick.   Their root problem was spiritual immaturity.  It sounds like Christians today.   James wanted his readers to learn to be spiritually mature. 

I want to be known as a Christian who is spiritually mature; not a Christian who knows a lot of Bible, but one whose life displays the character of Jesus.  I know I will learn alot from James, but I pray that what I learn goes from my head straight to my heart and soul. 

So looking forward to this 12 week walk through James.....care to join me?