When we go through trials and difficult times we are often faced with the following questions
- Does God really love me?
- Does God do His will for me?
- Is God's will for my life perfect?
- Will I like God's will for my life?
- Will God take the evil others have done to me and really turn it for my good?
- Will God repay the evil for the harm them did?
James, writes his letter to the Jews who are Christians who ran away from Jerusalem during the time of troubles.
Notes:
(a) James 1.3: List the different ways in which the trying of faith produces patience (ie: perseverance/endurance).
Faith is always tested - 1 Peter 1:7 and it is in the fire of testing that our faith becomes purer than gold worthy to honour God. A man of faith stands by the Word of God and waits for God to work and waits in patience.
During trying times, we may face the following questions
Is God there? Will God use what others meant for my evil for my good?
The Greek word for patience (hupomoné) also means “staying behind”.
This is a hard thing in a fast-paced world to wait behind.
We must draw our attention to Psalm 130:6 – where the psalmist says that He would wait for the Lord than watchmen wait for dawn. We would be unsure of everything that happens in the dark (or at the time of waiting), our allies may be away and we may feel alienated but remember that the promise of our Lord - “I will not leave you, nor forsake you”.
Patience produced through trials is an active patience – not just accepting circumstances as they are but a courageous and mature perseverance in the Lord and honouring Him in all circumstances
Remember these things:
I will not leave you as orphans (John 14:8) -- Seek the Lord’s promise of the Hold Spirit to comfort and hold you – Press on these truths
Wait for the Lord - (Micah 7:7)
Consider it as joy in such times of despair or anger – We trust in the goodness of God and his faithfulness here (Isaiah 25:1)
This task is intimate and personal (knowing): meaning that we cannot say that we need patience, but we need faith in God that produces patience. It is on knowing who God is and how his nature of patience
PATIENCE is produced in the following manner
Understanding that God is involved
Understanding the fatherhood of the Father (God is not against you)
Understanding the sovereignty of His will
Submitting in humility to the will of the Father so that He may confirm you to the image of the Son.
The objective of sanctification is to make us like Christ. It is the only way one may stand in the presence of a Holy God.
Justification: This is the first step, here a person in faith accepts their sin and their inability to save themselves and rely on the completed work of Jesus Christ for their salvation. This causes then to be born again – born to the family of God – adopted as a child of God. This makes them co heirs with Christ.
Continued Sanctification: The born-again believer seeks to walk daily in manner that honours Christ, knowing that there is sin in the world they live. Here the believer casts their hope and wait on the Holy Spirit to transform them daily into the image of Jesus. They face sins of the past and of the present and fight the battle against sin knowing that Jesus has already won it for them. They are transformed by their utter reliance on the completed work of Jesus and devotion to the Word. They order their lives in accordance to the word and through the Holy Spirit who brings conviction of sin and reminder of Christ. The believer is continually made into the image of Christ – being made perfect daily.
Glorification: Here a born-again believer is moved from the presence of sin, making him completed in Christ. He is made into the perfect Image of Christ.
Trials (as James said) are meant to bring change in the believer in the following manner
Humbleness: Only during trial does one realise the frailty of human wisdom and strength
Repentance: When one goes through trials, only then would he repent of his self-reliance and see God for who He is
Discipline: Only under trials one sees the Father as a father and not just a provider. The father disciplines only his children – we tend to put our life in order
Faith Building (Patience): Through trials a son, learns to wait for the Father, knowing and trusting in the wisdom and means of the Father – thus developing the faith in Father
Maturity: Once we been through trials, our faith is grown
Reward: We know that faithful servants are rewarded for their dependence.
There is often the thought that one may get when approaching this verse that double mindedness means that we swich between two options. A nice car or a nice job or something of that nature and that we need to believe with faith that God would give us one of those things. That is not the meaning of this sentence. The verse implies to the wisdom that God gives to a person especially under trials. This is what James implies. Often a believer may trust in his own abilities without relying on God for wisdom. The wait may be cut short as the person finds ways to avoid the waiting period and chase all possible ways. This person would consider God as a means to an end and not see the trials as the means God draws him to Himself. The man trusts in his wealth or influences and seeks to find a solution by exhausting his resources than trusting in God. A person who trusts in God, trust in His ways through His word and no in the feelings or instincts that a sinful heart desire.
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