Persevering in Trial

How do you respond to difficulties and suffering? Are your eyes on the “now” or on eternity? James encourages us in 1:12 to persevere with the right perspective and see how these times–however painful or overwhelming– are being used by God to shape and conform us to Christ.

Part 5 of a whole book study series called “True Faith: A Study Through James”

Find the whole series in James here.

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¹² Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

It’s somewhat startling to consider a person “blessed” when they are suffering or in the midst of struggles. Maybe that’s because our ideas about what it means to be blessed are so varied. As we saw in the last study, mere material prosperity does not mean blessing, and neither do suffering or trials indicate that God has forgotten or turned His back on you.

The word for “blessed” here in the Greek is makarios, giving a sense that this man is happy or to be envied. But it is not being in the midst of a trial that makes the man blessed; it is his perseverance during that trial. It is the growing sense of God’s presence and strength in the middle of it. Further, it is his steady focus on the goal, the prize toward which he strives, which surpasses anything we will go through on this earth.

Persevere Steadfastly

What does it mean to persevere under trial? Are we expected to just “grin and bear it,” “pull ourselves up by our bootstraps,” to merely “carry on” with a grim set of stoicism on our face and a (however forced) “praise the Lord!” on our lips?

The word persevere means “to endure,” but there is no sense of having to do it alone. It is bearing up and shouldering the burden, but not in your own strength. If anything, a trial is intended to bring you closer to God by showing you how you can’t go it alone. It can be difficult to draw close to Him during times of difficulty. I know my own tendency has often been to withdraw into a darkness and spiritual depression, only being aware of how much pain there is around me. Or I may simply default to thinking about how I can get out of this discomfort by my own means. But that’s not God’s intention for me.

We need to have a right response to and perspective about trials. And a key to doing that is right here in this verse: keeping our focus on the end game. I have heard arguments about being too heavenly minded to be any earthly good, but I have to say, I don’t think the majority of American Christians are in danger of that. More on that topic here.

You can experience this reality (and it is scriptural): the more you focus on Christ and the fact that at any moment you may enter eternity, the more compelled you will be to show Christ to the world during your time on this earth — and particularly during times of struggle. Because that’s what the world really wants to see: a believer who walks through the pressure in a different way than the world. Yes, the scripture and the gospel truth must be told. But the element of a person’s changed life because of that scripture and gospel is also a factor in proving to the world that this “Christianity stuff” is true.

Being Conformed to Christ

Another way we can persevere steadfastly in trial is to understand God’s purpose for us throughout these troubles. Paul writes in Romans:

And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope. [Rom. 5:3-4 NAS]

One reason for patient endurance then is understanding that God means to shape us and conform us more to Christ with what we are facing. James has already exhorted us in verse 2 of this chapter to consider it “pure joy” to undergo trials.

One thing we may be sure of… For the believer all pain has meaning; all adversity is profitable. There is no question that adversity is difficult. It usually takes us by surprise and seems to strike where we are most vulnerable. To us it often appears completely senseless and irrational, but to God none of it is either senseless or irrational. He has a purpose in every pain He brings or allows in our lives. We can be sure that in some way He intends it for our profit and His glory. – Jerry Bridges

We often think of trials as something to pray to get out of as fast as possible. We pray me-centered prayers of escape, desperate for deliverance, clamoring to emerge on the other side, back into our “normal” and comfortable lives. And there is in some sense a reason to pray in such a way that you throw yourself on God’s mercy and acknowledge, as David did in many of his psalms, that God is the only deliverer — whether that deliverance comes now or in eternity.

Hebrews 12:2 adds another aspect to what James is saying here:

fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. [Heb. 12:2 NAS]

Reflect on this and it may change your perspective on your suffering and trials. Christ had such an unwavering focus on his task and purpose that in spite of the utter humiliation of His incarnation, He endured death on the cross for our sins. The joy before Him was the gift of an elect bride, people given to Him by the Father. It is not simply that Christ endured much more than we ever will — of course that is true, but that is just part of it — it is that He never took His gaze off the Father or off the people He came to save. And here in Hebrews, we are exhorted never to take our eyes off of Him.

Related Study: Shaped By Trials

Why These Trials?

The word for trial and temptation is actually a shared usage (peirasmos) and depends heavily on the context for its meaning. According to biblehub.com, it is used in “the positive sense (“test”) and negative sense (“temptation”).” In verse 12, it is an overall description of struggles and suffering. In the following verses (we’ll get to that next time), James gets even more specific about the nature and source of trials, encompassing the idea of temptation and our response to that.

Trials in the immediate context of this verse gives the idea of testing being a good thing. That if we were not tested, we would not have opportunities to prove the reality of our confession of faith.

Photo credit: imgarcade.com

Testing also weeds out those with a false idea of what it means to confess Christ as Lord and Savior. It overturns the idea of “easy believism,” that a life of following Christ will be nothing but ease and comfort, that it requires nothing from you and that it costs nothing. There are those who have been incorrectly led to believe that by becoming a Christian, your life will suddenly be easy and you can live it however you like, merely because you prayed a prayer, walked an aisle, or the like.

Some people are under the impression that God’s doing this in some malicious way. Like He just enjoys seeing His creations writhe about in pain or suffering. As though He were a God who moves us about as pawns on His chessboard, poking needles in some and breaking others in half as He goes. But they lack understanding about who God is and how He works.

The writer to the Hebrews exhorts us in this way about how to view suffering:

Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? [Heb. 12:6 NAS]

From this we learn that just as parents discipline and give their children a right understanding of how to live and behave (for their good), so God also does this for those who are His (for their good). You may grow by reading books, praying, fellowship with others, but it is in the crucible of trials where your faith is most sharply and clearly shaped (related: Prov. 3:11-12; Rev. 3:19).

This reference to trial also isn’t just about one or two trials; it’s about a lifetime of them. Because we will not be approved and receive the crown of life until after this earthly life has finished. Be encouraged: even if you haven’t responded in the best of ways to the trial you are in or have just passed through, there’s a lesson God wants you to see in it anyway. For the next time.

Stamp of Approval

for once he has been approved,

Approved means you have emerged from the trial still holding to your faith, and thus proving the reality of your faith. Faith is most clearly proven and articulated by trials and suffering. It is all too easy to profess faith when the sun is shining, you have money in your bank account, and you are perfectly well in all areas of your life (health, family, work, etc.). However, relatively speaking, those moments are few and far between.

The reality of life in this world is that it’s laced with trial and suffering. It is a fallen world with fallen, sinful people in it, and storms are always around the corner. As Dumas wrote in his novel, The Count of Monte Cristo:

“Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes.” – Alexandre Dumas

So the question is, will you respond in faith during your trial and will you walk through it and come out the other side in a worthy way?

Awaiting the Crown

he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

The “crown of life” that James writes about here is also called by different names throughout scripture:

In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing. [2 Tim. 4:8 NAS]

And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. [1 Pet. 5:4 NAS]

Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath [i.e., crown], but we an imperishable.
 [1 Cor. 9:25 ESV]

Is this a literal crown you wear on your head? Probably not, though I will not come down dogmatically on it (I will say that in these usages, it is unlikely). Strong’s indicates that this usage speaks metaphorically of “the eternal blessedness which will be given as a prize to the genuine servants of God and Christ…the reward of righteousness.” It speaks of honor and glory. It also reminds us that we aren’t to look for reward in this life, but in eternity.

The Lord has promised. Let that sink in. Do you realize how powerful that is for your daily life? It is powerful because of who God is. He is trustworthy above all others. What God says will happen, will happen. He keeps His word. He never speaks what is not true.

to those who love Him. The word here agapao may be better translated “loving,” so in other words, to those loving Him, giving the sense of a moment by moment, ongoing choice to put Him first in their everyday thoughts, words, and actions. “When used of love to a master, God or Christ, the word involves the idea of affectionate reverence, prompt obedience, grateful recognition of benefits received.” (Strong’s)

Strength for the conflict and the reward of the victory come from the same hand, and are ours on the same conditions. – MacLaren’s Expositions

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To Him be all the glory as He stays constant and faithful in all of your trials!

Hope and Humility at All Times

Days fly by and time disappears in a dizzying spiral. You’re either in or out of the money, as they say. You’re happy one moment, devastated the next. What does your hope rest upon? What hope do you have that goes beyond the temporal and temporary of this world? On the sunny days or in the times of storm, James directs us to stand humbly and firmly upon Christ. (Jas. 1:9-11)

Part 4 of a whole book study series called “True Faith: A Study Through James”

Find the whole series in James here.

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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. ¹¹ For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away.

You may wonder, why does James seem to “jump” from talking about enduring trials and asking God for wisdom with confident faith to talking about our perspective as rich or poor people? Our very circumstances may in many cases be a trial or test and require wisdom to navigate. To a person who has little, they are tested to endure with little. To a person with much, they are tested to see what is truly of value. I do not believe that one or the other is more “blessed” in the sense that the world sees blessing.  We are too quick to attribute a person’s material prosperity as being “blessed” by God.

Asking for Wisdom in Faith

Growing up, when I had a problem, I always ran to my father for help. I trusted that he would be the one with the right solution. As believers, we have a perfect and infallible Father in heaven who we can seek for the wisdom to navigate our journey through this life. As James exhorts us here in 1:5-8, we can trust Him absolutely for guidance in all things.

Part 3 of a whole book study series called “True Faith: A Study Through James”

Find the whole series in James here.

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⁵ But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. ⁶ But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷ For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, ⁸ being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

While not as linear as Paul tends to be in his letters, James does leave threads between many of his topics. It is similar to how we as people are in conversation, taking a concept from one conversation and joining it to another, and then even going back to the first concept again later.

Here James moves from the idea of trials and their relationship to our sanctification (verses 2-4), so that our faith may not lack anything, to the idea that perhaps one of the primary things we may lack is wisdom.

Shaped By Trials

One of the most common experiences we share as humans is that of suffering, whether it be physical or mental pain, grief and loss, or difficult circumstances. It is one of the things that binds us together as people and one of the things that points to our deep need for a relationship with God through Christ.

In these first few verses of James (1:2-4), we’ll explore a little (certainly by no means all that is contained in the vastness of these few verses) of the thoughts behind being shaped by our trials.

Part 2 of a whole book study series called “True Faith: A Study Through James”

Find the whole series in James here.

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² Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. ⁴ And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

The first topic on James’ mind as he begins his letter is trials, something we can all relate to because we all are going, have gone, or will go through them at various times in our lives.

It’s no accident that James chooses to emphasize the concept of joy with the diminutive word “all.” In Greek, the word (pás) used just before this noun places particular intensity on it — in fact, the highest degree of intensity. So what James is saying here is that we are to have the perspective on our trials of this being a blessing, a divine shaping — perhaps the best thing that could happen to us in an eternal sense. It’s a joy because the Lord loves us enough to shape us through these trials.

Introducing James

From the outside, you appear to be a model Christian. Your reading and study of the bible or hearing it taught every week in church have produced in you a certain set of ideas about the Christian life. You can philosophize, theorize, and argue, producing all the right theological and scriptural answers.

But when the storm hits, what will your faith look like? In daily life, how do you respond to pressures and temptations?

James exhorts believers about what true faith looks like in practical terms — how it walks itself out on the street rather than merely in theory — in the hope that they will persevere steadfastly during trials and suffering.

Part 1 of a whole book study series called “True Faith: A Study Through James”

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A few things to know before we get into the text.

What is James? It is a general epistle to a scattered church (in the larger rather than the individual or specific sense), intended to provide instruction and exhortation about practical issues in the Christian walk.

The Expectations Challenge

Expectations. We all have them. Of ourselves, of others, of the abstract concept we call “life.” It’s nearly impossible to walk through a given day without having or expressing some sort of expectations.

I see believers all around me, both on social media and within the in-person church, who express anger, cynicism, frustration, bitterness, and even hatred because other people don’t meet their expectations. How come they do this, how come they don’t do that, why is this X way, how come it isn’t Y way? These questions are embedded in our thinking and reveal an innate sense that certain things or people “should” be a certain way (that we determine) and a desire for justice.

Every Need Met

When we offer what we have and who we are from a heart changed by Christ, it is an act of service to others and an act of worship to God our Creator and Provider. Paul concludes his letter to the Philippians with encouragement, praise, and thanks, pointing to Christ as the giver of grace and the source of all spiritual riches. (Phil. 4:15-23)

Part 20 of a whole book study series called “Joy in Christ: A Study Through Philippians.”

Find the whole series in Philippians here.

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The Fruit of Faith

¹⁴ Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. ¹⁵ And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. ¹⁶ Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again.

It is evident that although for a time they may have been unable to give, the church at Philippi was faithful in their support of Paul. They were the means by which God provided for his needs on multiple occasions. I don’t take these verses as an accusation or a complaint by Paul; rather, he is commending and showing appreciation to them for their consistency (related: 2 Cor. 8:1-9; 9:1-12).

Be Content Always

Because our lives constantly change, we cannot rely on our circumstances to define our attitude. Instead we need to be defined by who Christ is and who we are in Him. Paul presents an authentic picture of contentment in Phil. 4:10-14 and exhorts us to rejoice and rest in God no matter what’s going on in your life.

Part 19 of a whole book study series called “Joy in Christ: A Study Through Philippians.”

Find the whole series in Philippians here.

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Paul begins a small section spanning verses 10 through 19 with a twofold purpose: 1) to rejoice in God for His material provision through the believers at Philippi, and 2) to confirm his contentment despite fluctuating and difficult circumstances. The concept of rejoicing in the Lord and contentment at all times is connected with his exhortations of not being anxious and of having a godly thought life.

Love Expressed

¹⁰ I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity.

Paul said earlier, during his writing about Epaphroditus, that the Philippian believers had not had the chance to serve Paul through financial support. He renews the feeling of that here, affirming to these brothers and sisters in Christ that he is aware of their love for him. His confidence in that love was present with or without their support, but they did express it that way. He was particularly glad of it because he knew their motivation sprang from their relationship in Christ. It was not simply that they felt they had some obligation to “do good” or “give money” (related: 2 Cor. 9:5-7).

A Godly Thought Life

A countless number of thoughts pass through our minds each day — and yet how many are of eternal value? In Phil. 4:8-9, Paul presents facets of godly thinking and motivates us to consider carefully what we think, say, and do in light of who we are in Christ.

Part 18 of a whole book study series called “Joy in Christ: A Study Through Philippians.”

Find the whole series in Philippians here.

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⁸ Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Even as believers in Christ, we can sometimes have the human tendency to allow our natural thinking to overcome biblical thinking. In the previous two verses, Paul  explained how God would guard our hearts and minds with peace as we brought all things to Him.

He now gives eight different aspects of godly and Christ-like thinking (I’ll give more attention to some more than others and certainly not in any wholly comprehensive way given the limitations of the post!). I think you’ll find that this is not simply a laundry list of words, but an intertwined set of characteristics to be seen in a believer.

The Answer to Anxiety

In a way, our battle with anxiety comes down to a few simple questions: do we believe God or not? Do we believe He is sovereign over our lives or not? In Phil. 4:4-7, we find Paul exhorting us to bring all things to the Lord in prayer at all times because He is a God we can trust absolutely.

Part 17 of a whole book study series called “Joy in Christ: A Study Through Philippians.”

Find the whole series in Philippians here.

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⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

Remember — Paul was a prisoner awaiting trial that could potentially have led him to his death as he wrote this letter. And yet he still implores the Philippian believers to rejoice, despite his own personal circumstances; from a worldly standpoint, he had little cause for rejoicing!

In a certain sense, this exhortation to rejoice connects with Paul’s exhortation to rejoice in Philippians 3:1. And at the same time, it is part of his closing words and continues the thematic imperative to joy threaded throughout the letter.

It’s significant to reflect on the word always here. Consider: how difficult is it to rejoice in the Lord in the midst of a loss, grief, sickness, or other life chaos? Tough, right? We tend to let our emotions and feelings rule us in those times. It’s not that we shouldn’t have emotions and feelings; we were created with them. But we need the ability — based on our knowledge of God’s word — to be able to tell ourselves the biblical truth in spite of what we may feel at the time. We need constant reminders of what it is we have that goes beyond these temporal struggles and looks past these earthly pains.