Finding Joy in the Process of Pain

James is about real faith that permeates every area of life. In James 1:26, when he uses the word "religious," he means people of faith in Jesus, so he's saying that if you are a person of faith in Jesus, but it's not reflected in your life, your faith means nothing. It's not him being legalistic. It's about real faith. James 1:27 says that God wants people who don't burn the world down with their tongues, believers who see every widow and orphan and move towards them. All at the same time as having a water treatment plant between the world and your heart.

James 1:2

Consider it pure joy when you face trials of many kinds. It sounds like crazy talk, but it's all crazy talk when you live in an upside-down world, and He wants you to live right side up.

James 1:4

We would all love for this to be true. We want to be mature and complete, not lacking anything. But that doesn't just happen. There's a process, and it's found in verse 3.

James 1:3

We have to understand that trials lead to testing, and testing produces steadfastness. We have to possess steadfastness so we become mature and lack nothing.

Most of us are fine to remain in middle school rather than allowing steadfastness to have its full effect so we can be full-grown adults because we don't want the trails and pain that lead us to lack nothing.

Michelangelo talked about a sculpture being a tool of God, not creating but simply revealing the powerful figures already contained in the marble. Michelangelo's job was only to chip away the excess to reveal. God sees something in us that He wants to let out, and it's often done with a hammer and a chisel. Yet, our first prayer every day is to ask God to take away the hammer and the chisel.

James isn't saying IF there is a trial, be joyful. No, he says WHEN- it's already here, or it's coming. The chisel and hammer are tools by God to get us out of halfway and into full of what God sees.

"When you face" has the idea of "when you fall in", it's full on.

"various trials" means multicolored- various kinds of aggravation, a rainbow of disappointment, shades of difficulty.

Why should I take great joy in vast amounts of trials coming at me?

James answers: because you know something. Verse 3 says you KNOW that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Every hero we have in life has a story of perseverance. The process is worth it.

The process has a promise, and the pain has a purpose, and the payoff is perseverance.

Perseverance is "to stay up under something." What's being developed is a strength that allows us to stay up under pressure and get stronger and stronger. It's not all for external benefit, which is people seeing Christ in you. It's also internal. You are becoming the person God created you to be.

Mature connotes my full potential AND having learned everything and added everything to my potential to be my greatest potential. It's looking in a mirror and saying, I was to see what you see, God, and I want to look like you. Count it all joy.

How can I adjust?

James 1:22-25- Do what the Word says.

1. Get ready so that when the hardship comes, you won't fall prey to the common trap of "Why is this happening to me"?
2. Thank God for the hardship. Be a doer of the Word, not just a hearer. Do what He's asking you to do, count it all joy, and know He's strengthening you.
3. We need to reshape our view of hardship. The Church in America is napping. We think trials are getting mailed the wrong size of a sweater when our brothers and sisters are being jailed and martyred all over the world.
4. Let the pain, trial, and hardship cause me to lean on Jesus, not blame Jesus. God loves to put you in situations that you can't handle because He can handle it all.