Articles
Christians on Trial
“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials” (James 1:2).
James’s opening sentence tells us a lot about his book: it is a book about doing, and doing it will not always be easy!
This verse reveals four things about trials.
First, Christians will have them. Some preachers claim that if you follow Jesus your problems will all go away. James knew better! Following Jesus will rid us of sin’s self-inflicted wounds, but we still face life’s challenges; and along with them we have the added burden of opposition. James’s word rendered trials is used in two senses: a good sense of testing or proving something and a bad sense of maliciously enticing one to sin. In many cases there is little practical difference: while God is allowing us to be tested to help us grow, Satan tries to use those same challenges to make us fail.
Second, trials come in a variety of shapes and sizes. James notes that they are various: literally, many-colored. They may be physical, either through disease, injury, or just aging. They may be financial. They often come through personal relationships—at home, in the neighborhood, at school, at work, even at church! What James says applies to them all.
Third, we “fall into” them (NKJV). This is the same word Jesus used in His story of a man who fell among robbers while traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho (Luke 10:30). James says trials are a blessing, but he does not encourage us to seek them out, to needlessly invite hardship into our lives. Trials will find us often enough on their own! At times they seemingly come out of nowhere. And they may come in bunches: “when it rains, it pours.”
Fourth, we are to consider it all joy when trials come. Why should we do that? How can we do that? We’ll look for answers next week.
