TRIUMPH BEYOND TRIALS
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 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. 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. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anthing from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position, and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away. 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. 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.
(James 1: 2-12)
When I began writing the meditations at the beginning of Advent, I was feeling that I was in the midst of very great trials. I really needed God's intervention in my circumstances. And one of the things that really pulled at me, challenging me, was the beginning of this passage: "Count it all joy." I was certainly not feeling particularly joyful at facing Christmas in so much need. Yet everything and everyone around me told me to hold on and trust the Lord.
Simple endurance. But more than that is needed. James says that we must "ask in faith without any doubting."
I admit that at the beginning of Advent, holding onto complete faith and expelling all doubt was very difficult. And as a result, each day brought a great ebb and flow to my emotions - very, very low when I let myself fall into worrying about what would come next, followed by a quiet peace when I would put anxiety out of my mind. But each day brought that same rolling of the "surf" and tossing from the "wind," until I stopped and let go of all doubt. There came a day when there was absolutely nothing more I could do on my own, when I finally admitted that I would have to rely entirely on God.
Just as James had said, so long as I was doubting, I could not fully receive what God had to give. Oh, I had been given help prior to that point, for God's providence to those who love Him will not fail. But my hands had been clutched closed because I was so afraid of losing what I had.
I know that some read these words of James about the fate of the rich man and think he is condemning the wealthy. But I don't think that is what he means to convey. I think James wants to remind believers that all circumstances in this world are temporary, whether poor or rich. When circumstances change in either direction, James challenges us to give glory to God. Which ever way we move, we need to remain focused on the Lord.
James says we are blessed when we persevere under trial. It certainly doesn't feel like a blessing when we are going through the experience. It feels like we have been abandoned, forsaken. I began Advent with Psalm 22, the deeply heartfelt cry of a forsaken believer. Or rather, someone who felt forsaken. But once again, there is that warning from James not to give in to our feelings, which spring from doubt. Even the psalmist moves away from his "poor me" wailing and praises the Lord for His faithfulness to His people.
Troubles and difficulties tend to isolate us from the people around us. Or rather, we let them isolate us. Our distress makes us back away from others, because we don't want to spill that bitter stuff on other people. We feel we need to endure these things all by ourselves. Ah, those feelings again!
Joy is something that lets others come close to us again. Joy is a choice, not a feeling. We can find joy again, when we chose to praise God for His majesty, no matter what is happening to us at a particular moment.
Joy opens our hands, allowing us to receive the great bounty that the Lord wants to give to us.
If we remember that as believers we have already "been approved" perhaps we would do a better job of chosing joy. But when we are in the midst of trials, even that isn't easy to remember, because we get caught in the idea that we need to earn that approval. When we find ourselves stumbling over that, we need to go simpler and remember that we are the sheep in the flock of a Good Shepherd. He watches out for the dangers we cannot see. When we have to go past rushing, troubled waters, when the lion and bear try to get at us, the Shepherd deals with those threats. We may tremble in fear, but if we trust the Shepherd and stay put, instead of running away, we will find that He is trustworthy. If we endure this moment, we will come through to His blessings.
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 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. 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. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anthing from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position, and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away. 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. 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.
(James 1: 2-12)
When I began writing the meditations at the beginning of Advent, I was feeling that I was in the midst of very great trials. I really needed God's intervention in my circumstances. And one of the things that really pulled at me, challenging me, was the beginning of this passage: "Count it all joy." I was certainly not feeling particularly joyful at facing Christmas in so much need. Yet everything and everyone around me told me to hold on and trust the Lord.
Simple endurance. But more than that is needed. James says that we must "ask in faith without any doubting."
I admit that at the beginning of Advent, holding onto complete faith and expelling all doubt was very difficult. And as a result, each day brought a great ebb and flow to my emotions - very, very low when I let myself fall into worrying about what would come next, followed by a quiet peace when I would put anxiety out of my mind. But each day brought that same rolling of the "surf" and tossing from the "wind," until I stopped and let go of all doubt. There came a day when there was absolutely nothing more I could do on my own, when I finally admitted that I would have to rely entirely on God.
Just as James had said, so long as I was doubting, I could not fully receive what God had to give. Oh, I had been given help prior to that point, for God's providence to those who love Him will not fail. But my hands had been clutched closed because I was so afraid of losing what I had.
I know that some read these words of James about the fate of the rich man and think he is condemning the wealthy. But I don't think that is what he means to convey. I think James wants to remind believers that all circumstances in this world are temporary, whether poor or rich. When circumstances change in either direction, James challenges us to give glory to God. Which ever way we move, we need to remain focused on the Lord.
James says we are blessed when we persevere under trial. It certainly doesn't feel like a blessing when we are going through the experience. It feels like we have been abandoned, forsaken. I began Advent with Psalm 22, the deeply heartfelt cry of a forsaken believer. Or rather, someone who felt forsaken. But once again, there is that warning from James not to give in to our feelings, which spring from doubt. Even the psalmist moves away from his "poor me" wailing and praises the Lord for His faithfulness to His people.
Troubles and difficulties tend to isolate us from the people around us. Or rather, we let them isolate us. Our distress makes us back away from others, because we don't want to spill that bitter stuff on other people. We feel we need to endure these things all by ourselves. Ah, those feelings again!
Joy is something that lets others come close to us again. Joy is a choice, not a feeling. We can find joy again, when we chose to praise God for His majesty, no matter what is happening to us at a particular moment.
Joy opens our hands, allowing us to receive the great bounty that the Lord wants to give to us.
If we remember that as believers we have already "been approved" perhaps we would do a better job of chosing joy. But when we are in the midst of trials, even that isn't easy to remember, because we get caught in the idea that we need to earn that approval. When we find ourselves stumbling over that, we need to go simpler and remember that we are the sheep in the flock of a Good Shepherd. He watches out for the dangers we cannot see. When we have to go past rushing, troubled waters, when the lion and bear try to get at us, the Shepherd deals with those threats. We may tremble in fear, but if we trust the Shepherd and stay put, instead of running away, we will find that He is trustworthy. If we endure this moment, we will come through to His blessings.
Labels: Christmas
posted by Sarah | 9:53 AM
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