James 1:2-4 “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
Here’s a tough one and one that doesn’t make sense to the natural mind: “count it all joy when you fall into various trials.” I don’t know many people that get real happy about “various trials.”
Let’s fast-forward a minute to the end game. What we’re trying to produce is a life that is mature (perfect) and complete (v.4). This seems to be Paul’s summation in Ephesians chapter 4 for all of the office gifts starting with Apostle. Those gifts coupled with the body working together in harmony are supposed to produce maturity. According to our passage in James you can’t get to maturity without endurance (patience). And the way to become enduring is to have your faith tested. Oooohhhhh. Yeah, faith must be tested in order to get endurance. And the way for our faith to be tested…you guessed it—various trials. What you’re going through leads to a path of spiritual growth and maturity that produces a life that is complete. Don’t get absorbed in the trial. See the hand of God in it and what will come out of it. Your life will become stronger and more useful for kingdom purposes.