James 1:1-3- Dealing with Trials

As I begin a series of posts through the book of James, I believe it is beneficial to first provide a little background on the book.

James is considered to be the Proverbs of the New Testament due to the obvious practicality of the book.  The author of the book is James, the half-brother of Jesus.  It is interesting that James was not a believer in Christ during the Lord’s earthly ministry.  It is only after he saw the resurrected Christ that he believed.  James was writing to Jews who had been scattered through the Roman Empire because of persecution.  Within the 108 verses of this book there are 54 commands.  This adds to the practicality of the book and shows us that James is not afraid to tell us what we should and should not be doing.  He is a very ‘in your face’ kind of an author who deals very bluntly and directly with the things that believers encounter in everyday life.  But we must keep in mind that James’ goal is not to beat up his readers, but to help them live the Christian life in an authentic way. 

Verse 1 serves as the introduction of the book and also lets us know to whom James is writing.  As mentioned earlier he is writing to the twelve tribes that have been scattered due to persecution (the technical term is Jewish Diaspora).  The very first topic that James deals with is something that we all must deal with in life.  It is the topic of trials.  The term trials refer to anything that breaks that patter of peace, comfort, joy, and happiness in someone’s life.  It literally means to put through a test.  Let me point out the instruction from these first three verses:

1. Consider it joy when you face various trials- vs. 2

2. Know that the test of your faith produces endurance- vs. 3

When you read these few verses for the first time it may seem as though the instructions given are really not all that realistic.  But upon closer examination, James’ true desires for the believer become more apparent. Notice that trials are a given.  It is not if we face trials, but when we face trials we are to respond with joy.  This is in no way saying that trials produces happiness or that we are to laugh our way through the difficulties of life.  However it is saying that when our focus is on Christ we know that He will work it all for good in our lives….for His ultimate glory.

There is a difference between happiness and joy.  Happiness is dependent upon circumstances while joy is independent of our circumstances.  True Christian joy is based in the person of Christ who never changes.  We can have joy in the middle of trials and when life is changing all around us because it is rooted in the person of Christ who is not affected by circumstances. 

The way that we are able to look at trials and difficulties with joy is because we understand that there is a purpose.  Verse 3 shows us that the purpose is endurance.  As we will see next time, this endurance that is mentioned is not going to happen on accident it requires a choice.