LEARNING DAILY

James 1:1-3, James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

The twelve tribes of Israel had been scattered, had left Israel because of persecution by the Roman Empire. Those who had left Jerusalem had refused to acknowledge Caesar as Lord. Instead, they had stood by their faith that Jesus Christ was their only Lord. As was written yesterday, James was the leader of the Church at Jerusalem; he had remained in Jerusalem to lead the church there. He is writing to all who have left everything behind to encourage them in what they were facing. It is these people who left everything but shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ everywhere they went. If persecution had not come, if these people had not left, the Gospel might not have spread as it did. God does have a plan, directing the lives of His people.

What James writes to these people is certainly significant to Believers today as we face difficult situations that come our way. His writing will certainly be an encouragement to everyone who is trying to live out what they say they believe. What must the people reading James’ letter have thought when he wrote, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.”? My imagination runs with this, and I think of families uprooted, perhaps split apart, trying to deal with new surroundings, and living with different kinds of pressures on them. Then, they read a letter from James to count it all joy – he wants us to find joy in all this bad “stuff” happening to us?

All Believers experience troubles and difficulties. All of us reach our limits, whether they be limits on our time, our resources, our health, or our finances. I guess it might be called “burnout” today. The demands and pressures seem to be growing more difficult each day, and we might be wondering what is going to happen next. Nothing seems to be settled, things are constantly changing. Who does one believe about the economy? Is President Trump’s latest signing about crypto currency the end of the money system? And, oh my, what about the Epstein files?

James does not write Believers are to “feel happy” when trials come. He tells us to call it “joyful”! He wrote, “Count it all joy.” James uses the Greek word relating to organizing things when he writes “Count.” James wants Believers to react differently than an immediate response; he wants us to understand we will not be able to control our circumstances, but we can control how we think about those circumstances. It is not a matter of “if” trials come, it is a matter of “when” they come. We can react by saying this is a bad day; this is a terrible thing! Why is this happening to me? Or we can acknowledge this is a bad thing, but I will get through it. In the process I will learn from it and be stronger because I am going through it.

I have read the Bible through, cover to cover, a few times. I do not recall reading that when one becomes a Believer through Jesus Christ, he/she will live a life free from difficulties, trials, temptations, stress, or that life will be comfortable. I do remember Jesus Christ promising He would be with us when those things come (John 16:33). That should be enough if we remember that!