Tag: James 1

The Long Game

James 1

Sunday, October 2, 2022

The letter of James has some of the most immediately practical wisdom you can find in the Bible. Some have called it the “Proverbs of the New Testament.” If you are looking for guidelines about how a Christian should live, James is a great place to start.

The only problem is that some of James’ advice is hard to take: 

“My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4 NRSV)

I don’t know about you, but when I’m going through difficult things in life, I’m not feeling joy. Isn’t joy supposed to be reserved for things that are… joyful? Isn’t joy for when people get married, or when babies are born, or when a new season of your favorite show is available to stream, or when you are going to have tacos? Yes, joy is for the good things in life.

So why does it sound like James is telling us to enjoy suffering? Is he insane?

Well, no. In order to understand what he is saying, we have to think of the long game. We’re not to be joyful because of the difficult times we are facing, but because of the growth potential they provide for us. Going through things teaches us to endure, and being able to endure makes us more mature and complete. Pressures shape us into stronger people. Recall that if you subject carbon to intense heat and pressure, you get diamonds!

Consider any elite athlete. They didn’t get where they are by accident, but through years of difficult and intense training. Do you think they truly enjoyed all of that training? Of course not, but I bet they did enjoy knowing that through their training, they were going to be the GOAT at their sport.

If you want your muscles to become stronger, you have to progressively challenge them. Likewise, when our faith is challenged, it also becomes stronger. James is asking us to take on the right attitude of joy during our times of discomfort, because we know that through those challenges, we are deepening and growing our faith.

In thinking about all these things, I’m reminded of the time Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane, under unimaginable distress because he knew he would soon lose his life. Imminent death is the kind of thing that would test anyone’s faith, even Jesus. He didn’t want to go through with it any more than you’d want to drive a stake into your own eye socket. In his situation, I would have been tempted to just run away and wash my hands of the whole thing. I’d say to myself, “This whole messiah business has taken quite a turn and I just want a quiet life somewhere.” I can imagine he had that same temptation. Surely he didn’t enjoy being betrayed, put on trial, scourged, and nailed to a piece of wood to die in total humiliation.

Jesus didn’t have to do what he did, but he was thinking of the long game. Yes, he knew he would face a horrible death, but deep in his heart he had something resembling joy. Not joy because of the circumstances he was enduring, but because of what was just over the horizon. It was this joy and hope that allowed him to muster the strength to say with his dying breath, “It is finished.” He knew that his dying would mean, paradoxically, conquering over the powers of sin and death, and leading us on a mass exodus out of their clutches. He knew that his resurrection would unleash a new reign of God on the earth and again put us at one with God.

Jesus did what he did because he was thinking of us.

-Jay Laurent

A couple questions to reflect on:

1. What are some trials or difficult times that you have had to endure?

2. Can you think of any ways you grew as a result of these times?

2022 SeekGrowLove Bible Reading PlanDownload

Wise Enough to Ask for Wisdom

1 Kings 3

March 12

If an Almighty Being had just offered to grant you one wish – what would you wish for? Oh, so many great possibilities. What about that new house you’ve been dreaming of? Or, even better, a long and healthy life – not just for yourself, but for your family as well – that’s a good one – or is it more than one wish? Imagine how much you could help others if you were the richest person in the world, that could be a good wish! This is hard. Maybe you should ask for more time to decide what you would ask for. It would be a pity to throw away a great wish opportunity.

When Solomon (the second son of David and Bathsheba) became king after his father, God appeared to him in a dream and said:

 “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”

6 Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day.

7 “Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. 8 Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 9 So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong.”

1 Kings 3:5-9 – NIV

Ah, good choice, Solomon. God thought so, too, as He rewarded Solomon with not only the wisdom he asked for, but also great wealth and honor. Make sure you read the whole chapter to hear the impressive story of how he displayed his God-given wisdom to administer justice, which left his subjects in awe. (Wouldn’t it be nice to feel awe at the wisdom of your nation’s leader.)

I admire Solomon’s humility in knowing that he didn’t have all the answers and could use some divine assistance in leading the nation of Israel. There are many times I still feel like a child, unsure of what is right and best in many situations or questioning how God would want me to proceed, even though I have been an adult for about 30 years now. I’ve never led a country before and probably will never need to, but when I am honest, I know I need a good amount of Godly wisdom to do the jobs He has given me to do: wife, mother, servant of God, follower of Jesus.

And, the best news is, I don’t have to wait for God to appear to me in a dream and hope I will be wise enough in that groggy moment to ask for wisdom.

In James 1 we read: “ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.” (James 1:5-8 NIV)

God loves giving His people what they ask for when they are wise enough to ask for what He wants to give them. And when we ask, it is not a wish or a hope or a “wouldn’t it be nice if…”, it is boldly believing that the Almighty will answer. Solomon had asked for a discerning heart to know right from wrong to lead God’s people well. God said He would happily deliver. But, what if in that famous case, Solomon would have heard God’s prompting to suggest cutting a baby in half, but rejected the idea because it seemed so outlandish or unpopular or unlike anything he would have said before. Solomon would have missed out on truly “receiving” and using God’s wisdom. So, pray for wisdom. Then, when God gives the promptings to act – ACT, even if it seems uncomfortable or unpopular. Ask God for wisdom. Then, when God leads you to speak – SPEAK, even if it seems a little foreign. For all of us not wise enough on our own (all creation), it will take some courage and tuning into God to truly receive and use the wisdom He is ready to give when we ask.

-Marcia Railton

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

  1. Solomon asked for a discerning heart to govern the nation well. And God provided. The nation of Israel had an exceedingly peaceful and prosperous time under his reign and the fame of his wise leadership spread. How did Solomon fail to use this wisdom in his own personal life as well?
  2. Where do you sometimes struggle in discerning between right and wrong? Is it important to know the difference between right and wrong? Why? How can you find godly answers to these questions?
  3. Are you wise enough to ask God for wisdom? Are you bold enough to ask God for wisdom? How can you increase your faith, believing that He will answer?

2022 SeekGrowLove Bible Reading PlanDownload

Oxymorons

James 1

James 1 9 (1)

I am a dad and as such enjoy the occasional (or perhaps not so occasional) dad joke. I also like to see the look on someone’s face as they decipher the unexpected oxymoron. Some of these are so common that we don’t even realize when we say them. Others take a moment to realize what has been said.

Here are some examples:

  • Act naturally – Is it really natural if it is an act, or is it natural to act, or … WHAT?
  • Random order – Which is it random or in order?
  • Original copy – By definition if it is a copy it cannot be the original.
  • Only Choice – If it is the only one it is not a choice.
  • Jumbo Shrimp – Enough said

I am clearly confused by all of these oxymorons.

James, although known to be quite practical in his writing starts out using a couple of oxymorons.

The first he uses is in the second verse, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials.” I am usually not saying, “Thank you for this traffic jam” or, “I am so glad I just stubbed my toe.” James is not saying that we will or should enjoy pain or difficulties. He is saying that as our faith is tested it becomes stronger, just like we do when we go to the gym.

Next he writes of Humble Pride. James 1:9-10 says,

9 But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position; 10 and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away.

How can one in humble circumstances glory in his high position? The trick is we are not boasting or glorifying ourselves, but we are glorifying our God. Jesus tells us in Luke 10:42-45 that the one who wishes to become great must become least. As we serve others, we show that we are not focused on the desires of our flesh but instead we are caring for others. This shows true humility. After telling us that we are to be doing the word of God and not just hearing it James ends this chapter by telling us that pure and undefiled religion is to serve widows and orphans while keeping yourself unstained.

Sometimes when you do the right thing it may just confuse someone enough to cause them to ask why you did it. Let’s live in a way that inspires others to seek God and His Kingdom!

-Bill Dunn

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