Writings of the Heart: trials & the book of james.

the storm - (still) day twenty...

the first sign of the downpour often starts with a single drop... followed by another, and yet still, another...

today. oh today. the last week or so it's felt like the calm again before the storm comes back raging. it usually rains like that out here in our parts. "egypt" as many of our loved ones call it. there's thunder and lightning and hail for maybe 5-10 minutes and then peace and stillness, sometimes the clouds even break and the sun shines for a while. and it just fluctuates like that. i'm sure it's the same in many other geographic locations, but i'm no good with geography nor am i any good with meteorology so i'll stick to what i know. so yeah, there's been a somewhat, but not really that much, eery calm. still waiting, still waiting. wondering what else could be coming.

this morning, i woke up early bc the hubbs had to leave the house at about 5:30 so i had helpmeet duties to perform... packing his meals for the day. and i was actually really thankful that he had to wake up so early because it forces me to be awake when i kinda wanna be awake but just don't have the sheer willpower to wake up that early on my own. but i'm thankful because - by God's grace - i stayed awake and used the time productively to get back into my study on first corinthians. but of course, halfway through Dr. McGee's teaching on chapter 7, b-girl's crying for me upstairs. well, i'm not gonna take my coffee and notebook and ipad all upstairs so i just bring my phone... and for some reason, i can't remember why, i look up the book of james on blueletterbible.org. pull up james chapter 1. and it keeps coming back for one reason or another... studying suffering within the context of the apostle john's life... thinking about trials in general... reviewing my notes on verses 2-4 that i took during my summer book study on "anything" by jennie allen. The Lord just keeps bringing me back there. so i decide to pull up james ch 1 - and i look at the available commentary on it... and pastor ray stedman's sermon transcript on the book of james is there. he's one of the go to pastors i regularly receive teaching from through BLB - even though he's since gone home to be with the Lord. so i read through it while b's trying to get back to sleep and oh how relevant it is. little did i know how it would apply today not only to our storm, but the storms of others we love so dearly - friends who are family, facing trials we can't ourselves imagine. i just talked about earthly suffering, too, on friday night at bible study when we studied the apostle john. i'm just floored... it's literally that feeling of "when it rains, it pours". this is the reality of the storm we're in. it's not just "our storm"... there are many storms raging in the lives of those who love Christ... those who profess Jesus Christ as Lord and trust Him with their lives, trust Him for their salvation. and it never really gets real until the storms hit at the same time and you're kind of dumbfounded, asking yourself, "how... wha... what is going on??"

i'm here, in the middle of the temporary calm of my own storm... i'm looking around to catch a glimpse of what may be heading my way, but i can't see much... until i see the wind shaking some trees a little ways off and i can't help but feel it pass by me, sending chills down my spine. sometimes i wonder what the "big picture" looks like at certain times in this life. we tend towards myopia... seeing only what's right in front of us... can't see much else... thinking that this thing i'm in the middle of is the end all, be all. i wish i had a zoom out feature for life. to see things from a much, much larger perspective... i have a feeling it would be a very humbling and yet calming experience. we don't quite realize the pettiness of our own complaints until we are faced with the graveness of others' tragedies.

this is, of course, not meant to be judgmental against the struggles of others. i've learned in the course of studying God's Word that what may be an easy temptation or trial to overcome to one person may be overwhelming to another brother or sister in Christ. we shouldn't look at their circumstances with lofty eyes, thinking, "why are they struggling with that? it's hardly a trial...!" a bit insensitive and proud, no? James says, "count it all joy when you fall into various trials..." (james 1:2). our trials vary! we should not judge another believer's trials as being trivial... or "easy" because they are "easy" to us... what tempts one person may not tempt another...

trials, in general - whether others' or our own - have a way of refreshing our perspective, don't they? they shake us up til we start to see things the way we should see them. the amazing thing about the Christian life is that we can look at our own trials and pray that the Lord will speak truth and bring righteousness into the lives of others at our expense. if God's gonna bring someone to know the Lord through this current storm i have to endure... then amen, Lord! let it be! if God's going to use this storm of ours to be an instrument of peace and hope into the lives of other believers.... then amen, Lord! use us! use us - use this storm - in ways we cannot now see but will have lasting effects in eternity. Christ suffered and died for me, that i may be saved by grace through faith in Him as my Lord & Savior... if it is my cup to suffer, to endure a life of trials and hardship in the name of Christ, because of my faith in Christ, then i want to bear those trials willingly... i want to be a walking target of the enemy because if i am, i know i must be doing something right in my walk with the Lord. if Providence would dictate that i experience much pain, affliction, loss in this life... let it be worth it for the cross of Christ - that my brethren in the Lord would be encouraged by the evidence of God's grace, goodness and faithfulness in this life that i live... (to God be the glory!) and that those who don't know Christ as their personal Lord & Savior would trust Him with their lives as a result of my trials. what a reason to rejoice!

Lord, strengthen my faith. Make my life count for eternity.
Even if I never see how in this life, do what You need to do.
I am Your vessel...
Mold me, break me, fill me, empty me.
Use me for Your purposes, for Your glory.

interestingly enough - and i love seeing God's hand move in my daily moments - i open up my inbox this afternoon after receiving news of a nearby storm and i read a devotion from Proverbs 31 Ministries. and today's devotion was centered on - yes - james 1:2!

here are some comforting words from the writer, wendy blight:

How could I obey this scripture and find joy when someone I loved was in such pain? God graciously answered the cry of my heart by revealing to me these three words ...Jesus Only You.

I noticed the first letter of each of those words spelled J O Y. And it clicked with me. Jesus is our joy!

When God says in James 1:2 to consider trials as opportunities for joy, He's not talking about the joy found in earthly things. Circumstances turning out how we desire, possessions and positions, and even good health only offer happiness. They are temporary. What God longs for us to have is deep, lasting joy found in Jesus.

The King James Version says we are to "count it all joy" when we walk through trials. This word "count" means "evaluate."

When trials come, we must evaluate them in light of God's truths and promises. It's not the trial itself we consider a joy. Rather, it's the results that will come from the trial that we consider pure joy.

This involves trusting that God is actively working for our good even in the midst of painful circumstances. And as we trust Him, we will find an inner gladness rooted not in our circumstances, but in the reality of the living God who transcends our circumstances.

AMEN!!

Finally, some excerpts from the teaching of Pastor Ray Stedman on the book of James

There are two things, James tells us, that make faith grow. The first is trials. This is a wonderful chapter for those who are facing trials. He said,

Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness [or patience] have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (Jas. 1:2-4)

You need trials. And then he goes on to describe how to take trials. Accept them, he says, as from God, and if you lack wisdom about it, ask God to explain to you what is going on. But you have to ask in faith; you have to expect him to do this. And if you are poor, do not let that bother you---that is a trial, but it is a trial that can lead to blessing:

Blessed is the man who endures trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him. (Jas. 1:12)

....

Second, the instrument that makes us grow is the word:

Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if any one is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who observes his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But he who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty and perseveres...(Jas. 1:22-25)

He reminds us that it is the word of God that makes our faith grow---expressed in our actions. Faith comes by hearing, says the Apostle Paul, and hearing by the word of God. And I have never seen anybody grow strong in faith who neglected the reading of the Bible. How can we expect to know the great thoughts of God, the deep things of God, the underlying secrets of life, unless we spend time with the book that reveals them? There is no other source. No university in the land moves at all into this realm of unveiling the secrets of life. So, let your faith grow by rejoicing in trial and by understanding and doing the word.

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