It Will Be Worth It [James Study Week 2, James 1:2-11]

God Is Who He Says He Is

When my mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, I remember asking and questioning whether or not God was actually good. During that season, I worked for a Christian nonprofit, and we’d often play Israel Houghton’s, “You Are Good.” For months I couldn’t sing it. At best, I’d hum along while holding back tears. Most of the time, I had to leave the room. Really, God? Are you good? Because I’m not so sure right now.

“Joy, steadfastness, and spiritual maturity come from knowing and trusting that God is who he says he is, and he will do what he said he’ll do.”

For many of us, the events of 2020 have probably raised that same question. Maybe we wonder if God is really in control or why there’s so much evil in the world. Maybe we’re not sure if we can really trust him or we’re uncertain even in the age of information about what’s actually true. Maybe our emotions, what others tell us, or our circumstances leave us feeling tossed around in doubt, confusion, and discouragement.

But in the beginning of his letter, James reminds us that joy, steadfastness, and spiritual maturity come from knowing and trusting that God is who he says he is, and he will do what he said he’ll do.

It Will Be Worth It: James 1:2-4

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

James 1:2-4

Count it all joy. What a crazy idea, right? James tells us that we don’t have to wait for suffering to end to have joy. Joy comes in the midst of it, because our suffering isn’t pointless. God actually uses it to produce something worthwhile and eternal. As Paul says, “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17). 

Honestly, that idea is hard for me to grasp. Affliction doesn’t feel light or momentary. Heartache weighs heavy, and even when we make it through one trial, another is bound to be waiting for us. And then when I get my head out of my own little bubble and see the depths of suffering I cannot even comprehend, I can’t help but think, “How in the world could this ever produce something good?” Evil seems too pervasive, injustice too great, grief too deep.

On the flip side, sometimes these verses have been reduced to the idea that we can put on a happy face and go about our days pasting on a smile. “Be happy!” we’re told, but all we really want is to crawl into our beds and weep. As I walked through a department store years ago, a well-meaning stranger remarked that I should smile more. About an hour earlier I had found out my mom likely had cancer and would have major surgery two days later—on Christmas day. I was not about to smile. 

But James isn’t telling us to put on a facade and ignore our pain. He was no stranger to trials, and neither were his readers. He was the brother of Jesus, which meant he saw the deep suffering Jesus and his family went through, and eventually James himself was killed for his faith.[1] He’s reminding us that we truly rejoice, because trials will form in us a spiritual maturity (“perfect and complete”) that is strengthened as we remain under the weight of our suffering. 

The word “steadfastness” in this passage literally means “to remain under.” For someone lifting weights, they have to remain under the weight in order to grow strong. The more they remain under, the more their endurance and strength grows. So it is with our faith. Even though we struggle under the heaviness of our pain, we can have joy now, because one day, it will all be worth it. 

To be clear, there are some trials from which God gives us a way of escape. We don’t need to stay in an abusive relationship, avoid getting help for depression, or endlessly punish ourselves as some sort of penance for our failures. James isn’t talking about “remaining under” in situations that God has provided a way out. That’d be like staying in a burning building when we should be fleeing to safety. And if he hasn’t yet provided a way out, that doesn’t mean we can’t ask him. The psalms David wrote are full of pleas to escape his enemies and for God to rescue. 

But as long as we live in this fallen world, we will experience suffering. That’s a reality we cannot run away from, so let’s learn to suffer well. Instead of endlessly chasing worldly comfort and ease, which are fleeting, we can stand firm. We can be steady no matter what happens, not because we are so strong in and of ourselves, but because we’re holding onto—and being held by—the one who can never be shaken.

So how do we know when to remain under? How can we actually live with joy when life is hard? How do we learn to suffer well?

That answer comes in the next few verses.

We Need Wisdom: James 1:5-8

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 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. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

James 1:5-8

If we’re going to actually endure trials in a way that produces spiritual maturity that lasts for eternity, we need wisdom.

Wisdom in this verse refers to “an understanding of the ways of God and a readiness to act according to those ways.”[2] We have to see our circumstances the way God sees them, and then we act accordingly. 

Too often, we interpret who we think God is based on our finite understanding of our circumstances. We lose a loved one, and so we doubt God’s goodness. Or we struggle financially and wonder if God really is generous. We see chaos and believe God must not be in control.

“Instead of looking at God through the lens of our circumstances, we need to look at our circumstances through the lens of who God is.”

But when we do that, we’ve gotten it backwards. Instead of looking at God through the lens of our circumstances, we need to look at our circumstances through the lens of who God is. We need to look at our circumstances, our trials, our fallen world in light of God’s character. We need to continually ask for wisdom so that God can sharpen our blurry vision to see things the way he does. If we don’t, we end up tossed around like a wave of the sea. Our understanding of our life, the world around us, and God himself shakes and trembles, because we have nothing solid on which to stand.

In 1 Kings 18, Elijah confronted the people of Israel. He said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him” (verse 21). The Israelites were like a wave of the sea getting tossed around. They were limping around, not fully trusting the LORD. We cannot live steadfast lives when we limp between different opinions. We have to know and hold onto what’s true—and that requires wisdom, wisdom that comes from a God who is kind and generous and will grant us wisdom if we ask.

The problem is, too often instead of relying on our unshakeable God and his Word, we put our trust elsewhere.

Trusting What Lasts Forever: James 1:9-11

“Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.”

James 1:9-11

James gives us an example of how our wisdom (or lack thereof) can play out in our actual lives. In this instance, he’s talking about money. We cannot trust our money, because it will pass away. We can’t find our security in what we earn. Instead, the poor and humble can often more easily recognize their dependence on God and see that their security is found only in him. Like Jesus said in Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Boasting in ourselves and our own accomplishments ultimately gets us nowhere, because our boasting is only as good as the subject of our boasting. But we can boast in who God is and what he’s doing—he’s vindicating the lowly and humbling the powerful. He’s putting everyone in their rightful place and forming in us something that will last forever.

These verses echo what God says through the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 40:7-8. “The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”

We can’t trust wealth or put our hope in comfort or ease this side of eternity. Doing so is like the foolish man building his house on the sand (Matthew 7:24-27). Instead, we can trust our faithful God and his Word. He will never be shaken, and his Word will stand forever. 

How Will We Respond?

One commentator wrote about this passage, “Most trials don’t ‘call ahead’ to announce themselves. Their sudden presence in our lives demands a ready spiritual response.”[3] What will our response be when suffering comes? What has our response been? Doubt, being tossed around, trusting in fleeting things? Or joy, steadfastness, and spiritual maturity? 

If we want to respond with joy and endurance, if we want to be spiritually mature, we have to know and trust our God. We need to see life through the lens of who he is. If we don’t know who he is and what he says in his Word, our vision will always be skewed. We will have no firm foundation to stand on, no steady anchor to cling to. We can’t hold onto truth we don’t know—and so then we’re left flailing around, at the mercy of whatever happens.

But as we cling to the true God, we find joy because we know he’s working, and the end result will be worth it. We find steadiness because he’s unshakeable. And we grow in our faith because we’re rooted in him, all along becoming more fully who he has created us to be—a joy-filled and steadfast person who displays his character and demonstrates his kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

Reflect

• What trials are you dealing with right now that God may be wanting to use to strengthen you? 

• In what areas of your life do you need to ask for wisdom? Where do you struggle with doubt?

• What aspects of God’s character have you wrestled with?

• What other Scripture passages speak truth about those aspects of his character? Write down a few passages that remind you of who he is. (If you’re not sure where to start, take a look at Exodus 34:6, Psalm 23, Psalm 121, or Isaiah 40-41.)

• What does it look like for you to be steadfast, “remaining under,” this week?

[1] Check out the Week 1 post for more about the background and authorship of the book of James.
[2] Longman, Tremper, David E. Garland, et al. Hebrews—Revelation. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006, p 214.
[3] Ibid, 212-213.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. May not copy or download more than 500 consecutive verses of the ESV Bible or more than one half of any book of the ESV Bible.

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