James 1:2-8 2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,  3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  4 And 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.  6 But 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.  7 For 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. 

If I am honest, this command has frustrated me in times past. On the surface, it seems to promote a grin-and-bear-it, everything-is-happy kind of a perspective toward life and its difficulties, which strikes me as insincere, frustrating, and annoying. In times of enduring uncertainty and excruciating trials, how can I be expected also to produce any type of positive feeling about the whole ordeal?  

As it turns out, this happy-go-lucky front is not what James is calling us to, and I was both challenged and encouraged again recently as I reflected on the passage.

(Here’s the reader’s digest version)

• This perspective VIEWS TRIALS THROUGH THEIR OUTCOME.
• TRIALS PRODUCE STEADFASTNESS/MATURITY/COMPLETENESS.
• Sometimes, COMPLEXITY REQUIRES WISDOM (GOD-INPUT), WHICH RECOGNIZES WHO IS ULTIMATELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OUTCOME.
• Trials not only REFINE THE QUALITY of faith, but they also TEST THE NATURE of faith. Are we actually double-minded?
• Trials are part of the VERY MEANS GOD USES TO MAKE US MATURE/SOLID.

First, this passage calls us to a perspective which VIEWS TRIALS THROUGH THEIR OUTCOME. That is, we know that a rock-solid faith is only gained through the fires of life and its struggle. I have these great and precious promises from God, and I say that I believe them, but how do I know?  I know my faith is real when hang onto the promise of God, even though I am completely unable to fix the situation with my own plans.  

So, when life is hard, and I realize again my own weakness, I also know ahead of time that TRIALS PRODUCE STEADFASTNESS.  When I am in the middle of it, I look forward to the invisible yet promised outcome. Not that God saves my home from foreclosure at all costs, but that my faith is becoming rock-solid (mature). Maybe He is drawing me to Himself by breaking my trust on a plot of land, or maybe He will open the door for me to refinance my mortgage in the 11th hour. Personally, I don’t know, and it would be stupid for me to make sweeping generalizations on particular situations. However, I am able to trust because of this FAITH I have in the person and promises of God, and it will result in a complete person, a veteran who is lacking in NOTHING, if we stay in the fire without taking the easy way out, without compromising.  

Sometimes, life is much simpler than we make it, and there is a clear way that we should obey. However, sometimes the choice is not clear, and the decision difficult. So if we don’t know, if we LACK WISDOM about what to do, we must ask from God. Sometimes COMPLEXITY REQUIRES WISDOM (GOD-INPUT). That means, I will not know the right solution unless I go to God. And, in case we think He is malicious, James reminds us that He gives wisdom generously to everybody, without reprimand. So, when I don’t know what to do, I must ASK. This recognizes WHO IS ULTIMATELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OUTCOME.  

What if He doesn’t answer, what if I don’t know? Trials not only REFINE THE QUALITY of faith, but they also TEST THE NATURE of faith. That is, when things are rough, and I ask God for wisdom, I prove myself to be DOUBLE-MINDED when I doubt that He will make good on His promise. He promises wisdom, and when I doubt, it shows my faith NOT to be STEADFAST, but actually I am UNSTABLE in all my ways. So, instead of becoming rock-solid, it is exactly the opposite: I am sloshed around like waves.  

So, IS GOD TRUSTWORTHY? Is Jesus with me, never leaving me, like He promised? Did this life difficulty take God by surprise, and I have to help figure out the solution? 

I can consider trials “joy” when I realize my faith is rooted, not in the solution to the trial, but in the One Who holds the solution, when I realize that God always has what is best (even when it hurts terribly). There is both peace and joy in knowing, in trusting. Trials are not necessarily punishment from God (though they certainly can be). Rather, they are part of the very means God uses to make us mature/solid. So, Man of God, stand in there when the trial is difficult. Woman of God, do not waver in your trust. Consider it joy, because your Lord is shaping you into exactly who He wants you to be, IF you will be single-mindedly committed to Him.